Alliance
by Fairyfinder
Summary: The earth has fallen under the reign of Loki and there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. As he conquers the planet he uncovers a small island in the Caribbean hidden by ways of magic. On this island there is a fierce group of natives and an even fiercer queen who refuses to allow her kingdom to be ruled by this king. Loki dislikes opposition but he's always game for a challenge
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _Rubble rained down from the tops of buildings, people ran in fear, aliens shot at any moving target, and over the whole display of chaos and invasion there sat a man._ _The man wore strange garments, presumably from another world._ _Green and gold shone brightly over the streets of a petrified New York City._

 _One by one this monster took down the special team that had been assembled to put an end to him._ _None stood a chance against the scepter he wielded._ _They fell by a single touch of the thing, but they fell to their knees, rather than to the great beyond._ _All were taken but one._ _He stood proud and fought on, but in the end his former comrades pinned him and it appeared death was near._

 _However, when the emerald clad warlord sauntered over to the last of his opposition he merely laughed._ _His hand changed to a dark shade of blue-grey and his eyes glared red for only a moment as he reached down and gripped the other man's throat._ _In a flash the blue color spread all over the victim and he froze - quite literally - with a horrified, yet defiant expression on his face._

Councilor Agwe slammed his fist onto the ancient table and all of the other council members tore their gaze from the screen that displayed the horrors occurring in the United States. The old man, Agwe, took a deep breath and looked to the head of the gathering.

"If those heroes have so easily been taken then what will become of the state of the world?" He rasped, emotion pouring into his voice.

"Surely the American military will…" Councilwoman Oria started but was cut off by the first speaker.

"Do you not see the might of this Loki's army? They come from another world with weapons far greater than even ours and numbers untold! You saw how Captain America and the Asgardian fell, and how Iron Man was frozen! If this enemy can do such things then there is no doubt he shall do exactly as he pleases to anyone who stands in his way."

"We will be safe," An older woman, Vea, said firmly, "Our Lyron has stood away from all others in times of peace and war, it is an island unknown to all but ourselves. We cannot be found by men and this extraterrestrial invader will be no different. Even if he claims the entire globe how would he find us?"

"He wields magic greater than our own! You saw the scepter!" Agwe argued, eyes darting back to the television, where the alien had begun to give a speech to anyone left around him.

"We are but one small island. Lyron has no exports of great interest; we might be grouped with the rest of the Caribbean and left alone even if he could detect us." Vea said calmly.

"And if he doesn't just forget us? If he manages to secure the planet as his kingdom and then finds us and takes an interest, what then?"

Another voice spoke up from the head of the table. "Then we will talk to him and convince him to leave us in peace. If he does not listen then our forces will blow him back to whatever world he slithered out of."

The council bowed their seven respective heads in the direction of the new speaker. Vea smiled slightly, Oria nodded, and Agwe bit the inside of his cheek from speaking out. The queen had declared her will and he dared not speak against it without the sway of the council behind him.

"Your Majesty." The seven members murmured, and that was that.

The queen rose from her chair and froze the image on the television as the camera zoomed in on the warlord's face. She poked the screen and met the eyes of each of her advisors.

"I know Lyron is small, and I know I am young, but I also know that when the Lyronites band together we can be unstoppable. Magic runs through the veins of our people as well as the very soil of this island. If that man," She tapped his face on the screen, "Thinks he can conquer the world then fine, see what he can do, but if he dares to even carry a hope of laying foot on our land then he will regret ever coming to Earth," There was fire in the young monarch's brown eyes as she gestured to blue and silver tiara on her head, "As long as I wear the crown Lyron shall be protected against destruction."

A brisk round of applause went through the group and she nodded her thanks. Turning off the screen behind her she set her jaw and exited the council meeting. The members saw a fierce queen leave, but the woman herself felt like a small girl tasked with an impossible job.

How would she, who'd just reached the age of twenty-four, protect her kingdom if that monster of a man did decide to wage war on them? She didn't know, but she was certain that her country would _never_ be destroyed, no matter what price there was to pay.

o*o*o*o

Loki stood on the balcony of Stark Tower and smiled grimly. He'd done it. The Avengers were defeated, the Midgardian authorities to frightened to take action while his Chitauri roamed the streets, and he was king. Admittedly, he'd thus far only conquered a city in one of fifty states in a single country out of hundreds, but with the so-called heroes out of the way he knew that the rest of the planet would soon be under his boot, quaking in fear of his next action.

Once the Midgardians were under his rule and afraid he would begin on instilling a respect for him in their hearts. A feared king was one thing, but one that the people actually wanted on the throne was entirely another. He would gain this from his new realm and then he would rule like the king he was born to be.

No one would get in his way. No one who faced him would stand a chance.

 **A/N: Hi buddy! Thank you so much for reading this prologue to my new story Alliance. Since I'm writing a lot of ongoing stories right now this story will not take priority and I probably will not update it for some time after the first few chapters. However, once I finish a few of my other stories this one will be updated more regularly. Until that time I hope you enjoy the odd chapter here and there. Thanks again for reading, please follow/favorite/review! :)**

 **P.S. I made up the island of Lyron as far as I know as well as all of its council and royalty, but I do not own the Avengers, Loki, or anything Marvel.**


	2. Magic in Unexpected Places

**A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to the first official chapter of Alliance. This story is probably going to take some time before it ever reaches completion, but that's okay. I'm just writing this story for fun so I'm not too concerned with reader numbers or favorites. I just figured that if I can share a story that people might want to read, why shouldn't I? I hope you enjoy my little fic and come back for more whenever I post it! If you do end up liking this and want to see more Loki x OC stories I have two more, To Trick a Trickster (which is about to get a sequel) and Mind Your Manners, another story I'm just writing for fun. I've got a few other Avenger stories as well and if you want to check them out that'd be lovely! Thanks for reading! :)**

Six months. It had been six months since the beginning of his conquest and now every country of Midgard bowed to him. It had not been hard with the Chitauri behind him. Some countries surrendered before he even made a move to assimilate them. Of course, many places put up a fight… and now they mourned their dead. Some countries hadn't surrendered and hadn't put up a fight, they simply welcomed him with open arms and kneeled to their new king.

It was from one of these willing countries that Loki had found his most trusted advisors. Though, even if they were the most trusted, he still didn't put any faith in them. He didn't trust anyone fully, but that was to be expected and it didn't bother him in the least.

The Avengers had been separated amongst the continents and were checked on regularly to make sure they weren't breaking free from the control of the scepter. In truth, they were helpful in keeping their new homelands loyal to him. No one wished to take on an Avenger.

Things were going well. Not many people enjoyed his rule, and practically everyone feared him, but he would earn their respect soon. There were many things that could be done to sway a people group in his favor. Prizes were awarded when they behaved well and punishments when they were warranted, but never when it was unnecessary. Slowly the earth began to accept him as king.

"Sire!" A man called from the doorway to Loki's office in Stark Tower. There were many fine palaces across the globe, but for some reason he favored living here. This was where the battle had started and this is where he would rule from.

"Enter," Loki replied, sifting through agreements and alliances. The door opened and Faraji Yeboah entered. Yeboah was the second in command of the whole operation and he hailed from Kenya, which had been one of the first countries to give into his rule, "Ah, what news do you bring?"

"The rebellions in Brazil have finally been snuffed out, sire, and the former president has signed the treaty," The large man replied, handing a file over the desk, "Some of the people are upset, but they will not rebel again soon."

"Excellent," He sat back in his chair with a smirk, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means there is absolute peace across the planet."

"Yes, my king, it does." Yeboah smiled. He knew how great of an accomplishment this was and he was proud to be a part of it.

"Now, is there any other business that needs attending to?" Loki asked. Thor had been wrong, the throne suited him just fine - in fact he had accomplished in six months what Midgardians had never been able to do in their entire existence. World peace was no small matter and though it had cost many lives he knew that he could make it last. The people would bury their dead, get over their losses, and realize that this was a good thing.

"There is one small matter some of your other advisors and I have been discussing, but it is a trivial thing at this moment should you wish to postpone discussion of it."

"Tell me. I've finished much of my work for this day and want to have everything done before I go to check in with the general."

Yeboah looked uncomfortable for a moment, but nodded. "Yes sire," He took a piece of paper out of his suit pocket and cleared his throat, "Your respectful advisors respectfully request to discuss the subject of alliance through political matrimony to further strengthen the great kingdom and, respectfully, produce an heir lest the non-respectful citizens lay claim to our greatly respected king's life," The man flicked his gaze up for a moment and then looked back down at the paper, "Respectfully, your advisors."

Loki laughed. "Well as long as it's 'respectfully' I suppose I shall have to listen to whatever drivel they have to say."

Yeboah smiled slightly. "I admit there was a bit of an overuse of the word."

"A bit."

"So what do you think of the matter, my king?"

"I could hardly make out the meaning of your request. State it plainly."

"Uh, marriage, sire, we wish to discuss the concept of marriage with you."

Loki's eyes narrowed and he straightened in his seat. " _My_ marriage?"

"Yes sire."

"What is there to discuss? I have only just become king. I doubt that this matter is hugely relevant at this time."

"No, perhaps not, but every king must have an heir, do you not agree?" Yeboah answered swiftly, "And there could be great political gain as well."

"Am I to assume you wish me to enter into a matrimonial agreement with a Midgardian woman of high importance to produce an heir and gain political strength with whatever country she hails from?"

"That is the jist of it."

"And you have candidates in mind?"

"Several."

Loki sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. He weighed the idea in his head. It was true that an heir was important, and it was also true that he could strengthen an alliance with any troublesome country simply by marrying one of the resident women. It would make sense for him to do such a thing, but he couldn't help feeling repulsed by the idea. While interspecies relationships bothered him and he was slightly disgusted at the idea of marrying an earth woman, that wasn't the real cause for his repulsion.

He didn't consider himself a sentimental man, but the thought of marrying someone who he didn't love, who didn't love him was not appealing. Sure, he could get to know this person over a course of time and after they were married perhaps they would fall in love, but it didn't seem quite right. Not only that, but he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to love a Midgardian woman even if he did fall for her, their life spans were so short and it could lead to unnecessary heartbreak.

It was frustrating to not want to marry without loving the woman first, but also not wanting to love her because of fear of her death. Still, Yeboah was right, he needed an heir. It bothered him to think of dying here on Midgard - or ever for that matter - but if he did should he allow for earth to return to the way it had been? Fighting and disease ridden? Nay, it would be best to keep this new peace and the only way to ensure its survival would be if he had someone next in line for the throne.

Supposedly he could just nominate someone to take his place in the event of his death, but he hadn't known any of the mortals long enough to want to make them king. Perhaps he could adopt an orphaned child and - _no_. That he would not do. His own experience with adoptions was not something he would want to repeat or inflict on someone else. Let the orphans of the planet find homes in loving families, not with him.

Yeboah was staring at him as he thought and he realized he'd been silent for sometime now. Finally he nodded.

"Yes, I suppose it would be a good idea. Leave the list of candidates on my desk and I'll attend to it after my meeting with the general."

Yeboah nodded and pulled out his phone, typing in a few commands. "Very well, I'm having the list printed now and I will deliver it promptly."

Loki smiled. The man was learning to make more paper documents. The first time Loki had used one of the Midgardian computers he had fared decently, but the device was no comparison for actually being able to hold and sort the files. He supposed if it was advanced as Asgardian technology he wouldn't have minded so much, but it was slow in comparison to what he was used to.

"Good. I shall see you tomorrow." The king rose from his chair, exited the office, and found his way to the meeting room where he was to see the general of the military. His mind was still fixated on the idea of marriage, but he did his best to push it away and focus on the maps and charts before him.

"We've positioned military bases in nearly every country, my king," The general announced, pulling out a handful of maps and laying them on the table, "However, it is not logical in some areas to have forces on _every_ country, island, or province. Take the Caribbean for example. Seven thousand islands, thirteen countries. It would be difficult to put men on each of those islands."

"Indeed," Loki nodded, scanning the map, "Show me a satellite picture of this area currently."

The general projected the requested image onto the wall and Loki scowled. Something about this picture was not right. Right under the place titled Puerto Rico there was something off. He wasn't quite certain what it was, but he felt as if there was something missing.

"Can you get closer to the area south of Puerto Rico?" The image zoomed in and he nodded, tapping the spot on the map, "Right there. Something is not right. Do you see this haze in the picture?"

"Yes, but that could be a technical error."

"Pull up more pictures of this spot," He consulted the map key, "Four hundred miles south of Puerto Rico."

The general did as he was ordered and the saw that the haze was in every one of the pictures. The man grunted and rubbed the bald spot on his head.

"How has nobody noticed this before?!"

"It is often hard to be aware of magic until someone points it out to you." Loki commented and the general's eyes widened.

"Magic? On Earth?"

"Don't be so surprised. I've long suspected that there has been some magic here. On such a vast planet it would be harder to believe that there is none."

"Oh."

Loki examined the pictures and the odd haze. What was hiding behind it? The size indicated it could be a whole island. If that was the case, who on the island could manage to generate enough magic to hide something so large? As king of the planet he was eager to learn of every nook and cranny. Particularly if there was powerful sorcerer or sorceress on said nook.

"I am going to travel there and see what is being hidden," He announced, "Perhaps there is simply something with the water in this area that creates the haze or perhaps there is something more."

"Sire, should we not send a military force first to make sure it is not a hostile area?"

Loki scoffed. "I'm more than capable of handling a few agitated Midgardians. Besides, if the area is, indeed, cloaked in magic then I might be the only able to get through."

The general bowed and began gathering the maps together. "Yes my king."


	3. The Problem with Princesses

As the Quinjet flew toward Puerto Rico and the mysterious haze Loki skimmed the papers in his hand. Yeboah had made an extensive list of possible brides and the amount of information was somewhat overwhelming. This former princess came from a country with a valuable export, this female politician would strengthen his hold over the United States, this duchess came from a rebellious country that might be assuaged by having one of their own in a position of power. All of the women had something to offer politically and all of them were simply a fact on a paper in Loki's mind.

Not a one of them stood out as interesting or even agreeable as far as Midgardian women went. There were a few that seemed decent, but none of them really stood out to him. He sighed and put the papers down, looking out the window as they came closer to the area of the haze.

o*o*o*o

Lusca yawned and stretched in her large bed, wrapping up in the sheets and snuggling down against the pillow. She had many things to do that day, but a few more minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt anyone.

A sweet island breeze blew in from the open window and golden sunshine glinted off every surface in the room. The young woman smiled to herself but was quickly shocked out of her bliss by a loud banging on the chamber door. Jerking up straight she called for whoever it was to enter.

"My queen!" A guard said, bowing quickly, "It is you neice."

Lusca slid her legs off the bed and into a pair of slippers that were waiting for her. She grabbed a bathrobe and pulled it on hastily to cover her sleeveless nightgown.

"What now?" The queen asked, following the guard out of her bedroom into the sitting area just outside it, "What has happened?"

"Ma'am, she has vanished. Her room was empty this morning and she cannot be found in the palace. We've sent out men to check the village for her, but so far nothing has turned up."

"Raeni often disappears with her friends. She may have gone into the jungle, or the falls."

"Shall I send men to those places?"

"Yes," She nodded, "And when they find her have them bring her straight back to my office. That girl is has been causing far too many problems lately."

The guard smiled softly. "Perhaps it is just a phase?"

"I hope so." Lusca ran her hand through her tousled black hair and dismissed the guard to do his duty. She sighed heavily and walked back into her bedchamber and over to the closet. Taking out navy slacks and a matching blazer and grabbing a white blouse she got dressed for the day. Glancing at herself in the mirror briefly and dusting on a bit of makeup, she headed out. She stopped at the door, turned back, and snatched her tiara off of its resting place, twisted her hair into a bun, and jammed the jewelry on top of her head.

When one found out that their niece - the princess - was missing, one usually did not take such a long time to get ready. However, Princess Raeni going missing was almost a daily occurrence. The sixteen year old made it a habit to cause the palace guards as much trouble as possible. Her aunt, the queen, was growing weary of Raeni's little adventures. She wasn't worried about the girl getting lost as she had been raised on the island and knew every inch of it. She wasn't worried about the princess coming across a dangerous wild animal or even getting hurt. None of the nature posed a problem, but Lusca had a feeling deep in her gut that Raeni was going to get into trouble someday. Trouble that would be too deep to get out of, even for royalty.

"Councilor Agwe, how is the harvest coming?" Lusca asked her advisor when she spotted him on the way to her office.

"Your Majesty," He bowed and began walking with her, "The harvest is going well, we've produced double the amount of last year."

"Marvelous!" She smiled and nodded.

"I hear your niece has gone missing again."

"Mmm," Lusca rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I feel like I ought to bring back arranged marriages so that I can hand over the responsibility to someone else."

Agwe stared at her in shock. "We haven't had an arranged marriage since-"

"It was a joke, Councilor."

"Oh!" He laughed and the queen blushed. She'd never been very good at telling jokes. No one ever expected a monarch to have a sense of humor and they seemed surprised whenever she tried to make a jest, which was often.

"The guards are looking for her now and when they bring her back I am going to have a talk with her. I know she can care for herself, but she makes the guards' jobs so much harder and she needs to learn how to have respect for others."

"There is a reason you are queen and she is not." Agwe noted.

Lusca winced. On her precious island of Lyron the government was a traditional monarchy for the most part. When one king or queen died their children or next closest relative took over, however if the _island_ did not pick that person as the next ruler then they could not become king or queen.

The previous ruler was Raeni's father, Lusca's brother, and he was one of the best kings Lyron had ever had. He'd ruled firmly but justly and the people loved him. His one flaw was that he loved hunting a bit too much and as a result was killed in an accident with a wild boar. The next in line for the throne would have been the young princess, who was six at the time, but the island had declared from her birth that she would not be queen. So, Lusca's second oldest brother took control. At the time no one had known that island had not chosen him either as he hid it well. The result of his rule was drought and poverty. For two years he led the island into hard times and nearly allowed for them to come to ruin. His reign came to an end when it was revealed that he wasn't chosen by the island. Not wanting to relinquish his throne, the king had given fight and eventually been captured and locked in a hidden prison. Lusca had been placed on the throne at age sixteen and she'd ruled since.

The issue that the island approved of her, but not Raeni had upset the princess for some time and set the girl against her aunt. Every time Lusca told her niece to do something Raeni did the opposite. Whenever there was a formal event to attend Raeni showed up half an hour late, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Ceremonies were mocked, honored nobles made into jokes, and Lusca herself was disobeyed in every possible way without committing treason.

The queen said stay, Raeni ran off. Lusca said look presentable, the princess wore her PJs. If the right path was specified then the left would surely be the one taken. Somedays it went beyond simple teenage rebellion. Raeni had a habit of hanging out with the troublemakers on the island - those few young adults who were less than happy about the government.

Still, Lusca couldn't bring herself to punish one of her only living relatives. As a result of the queen's leniency, the princess ran wild.

"Have a good morning, Councilor," Lusca nodded, heading for her office, "Be sure to let me know about that knew agricultural project you have in mind for the swamp!"

"Will do, my queen, will do," The older man winked, "We'll be growing our own water-celery soon!"

The queen stepped into her office and noticed that the window had been left open. It was not particularly odd, taking into account the warm weather and balmy breezes, but it still seemed off somehow. Lusca shrugged and looked out at the brightly colored village homes. Her people milled about the town, some clearly searching for the princess, but others more concerned with the fruit at the market.

"Raeni, where are you now?" Lusca sighed.

Much to her shock, a low voice answered her from somewhere in the room.

"She is closer than you might think."

Spinning around, Lusca spotted a tall, pale man with dark hair and green robes. She tensed, immediately recognizing him. Her eyes scanned her desk for any form of weapon and finally settled on her letter opener. After being swept off the desk, the small dull knife was grasped in a shaking hand and pointed at the man.

"How did you find this island? Why are you here? What do you want?"

He held up his hands and smirked in amusement. "So many questions and we haven't even been properly introduced yet!" His green eyes sparkled with some secret only he knew.

"I know well enough who you are." Lusca inched toward the open window, but when the man flicked his hand and the sound of slamming behind her she knew that there would be no escape that way.

"It would be impolite of you to leave before you've told me your name."

"And if I tell you then you will go?"

"No, but it is fun to tease you."

"Not fun for the both of us, I assure you." She could easily shout for help and a dozen guards would come running, but she didn't know what this man was capable of and wasn't eager to find out.

Chuckling once more, he moved to her side in the blink of an eye. His arm snaked around her waist and he whispered into her ear. "Never fear, I've already learned all I need to know from your lovely niece."

Lusca's heart froze, yet her blood boiled. Raeni.

o*o*o*o

 **1 Hour Earlier - Mirak Beach, Lyron**

Princess Raeni sat on the warm sand, knees pulled up to her chin, long blue hair blowing wildly about her, and tears leaving tracks on her cheeks. The ocean waves crashed gently on the beach and seagulls squawked from above.

"Boys are so stupid." She mumbled, sniffling and swiping at her nose with her knuckles. If Vin hadn't broken up with her - in front of all their friends - then she'd be exploring the caves right now and having fun. But no, her idiot boyfriend had decided that he didn't want to date her anymore, just because she was the princess and he was "through" with the monarchy.

After Vin had broken her heart her so-called friends had turned their noses up at her and shoved her from their group. Raeni had run. She hadn't even looked where she was going, she just ran. Somehow she ended up at Mirak Beach, one of her favorite places on the island. Her father had brought her here when she was little and they'd talked about her mother and imagined living in the clouds.

That was long before all this nonsense with alien invaders and her friends deciding Lyron should nix the island royalty and lose the protection shield. They'd heard about the peace all over the rest of the world and they wanted Lyron to be part of it. They _wanted_ to be under this Asgardian's rule. And, so she didn't lose her friends, Raeni told them that she agreed.

Now everything was screwed up and she was all alone. She couldn't go home yet - her aunt would be furious at her for leaving the palace without escort. The "prestigious" Queen Lusca wouldn't even care that Raeni had her heart crushed into a million pieces. She'd probably just ground her.

"Stupid aunts. Stupid royalty. Stupid island," She picked up a seashell fragment and hurled it toward the sea, shouting, " _Stupid boyfriend! Stupid aliens! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ "

The seashell she'd thrown didn't splash into the waves as she'd expected. The fragment hit something unseen and a cry of surprise was uttered from the same direction. Raeni jumped in surprise and wondered if one of the island's grand magician's had finally mastered invisibility or if this was just her imagination. When a person shimmered into view she could only hope that it was the latter.

"I realise you weren't aiming for me, but still, I can't help but feel offended," The person said from a floating and alien looking chariot.. He looked just like the guy on TV, the one who had taken over the planet. He also looked rather irritated, "Might I inquire why a young girl is sitting on an island that shouldn't exist chucking seashells at invisible kings?"

"You…" She scooched backward on the sand and grabbed her bag, which had been sitting nearby, "You're that, that… guy from New York!"

He gave an overly dramatic bow and landed his vehicle on the beach. "Always a pleasure to be recognized. Loki of Asgard, King of Midgard, you?"

Raeni knew better than to exchange words with a maniac like him. He'd killed millions of people in the past six months and she wasn't about to be added to that total. So, she turned and ran as fast as she could. The jungle path wasn't far off the beach and the village was only a half a mile down the path. She had to alert the island.

Before she could go more than ten feet she found herself face to face with the Asgardian. As she skidded to a stop and then tried to turn he grabbed her bare shoulder and held her firmly in place. The sickening grin never left his face.

"What is this island called?" He asked.

"I'm not going to tell you anything!" Raeni declared.

"Then you are of no use to me and I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you," A golden scepter was in his hand in a flash and the blade on the end was held up to her throat, "Can't have you sounding the alarm, now can I?" He moved to strike.

"Wait! Wait! The island is called Lyron!"

"Very good. Can I know your name?"

"Raeni," She jutted out her chin proudly, "Princess Raeni."

"Are you in charge then or do you have parents?" Loki asked, eyebrow raised.

"My parents are dead, but there is a queen - my aunt."

"And what is she called?"

"Lusca."

"You're very suddenly full of answers. Why so eager to 'let the cat out of the bag' now but not earlier?"

She shifted her weight and considered screaming for help. There was no one near enough to hear her. "I don't want to die, you said you'd kill me."

"How was this island hidden from the satellites? Why does no one know of it?"

"I don't know specifics but I do know there is a shield run by…" Raeni hesitated. No outsiders were ever supposed to know about the barrier.

"Magic?" He guessed, "Yes, I had a rather difficult time breaking that shield, but it did come down eventually."

"You broke the shield?!" She gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Yes. This _Lyron_ is not hidden from the world any longer."

"No!"

"Don't be childish, I just told you that I did," He glanced at the jungle briefly, "My only question is this: how do the Midgardians here have magic when it would seem no one else in the realm does?"

"I don't know, we just do." Raeni shrugged, wishing her own magic wasn't so unpredictable. If she could pull off just one spell she could get out of there. Just one.

"Does everyone here wield magic?"

"No, but most people."

He straightened and released her shoulder. "Remarkable. Not another soul on the planet who can and now a whole island full!"

Raeni inched away from him and toward the jungle, but he shot her a warning look. _That_ stopped her in her tracks.

"Lyron doesn't want anything to do with you. You should just go before the queen finds out that you've been here," The princess suggested, "Cause when she does find out she will not be happy!"

"I thank you for your concern, child, but I can handle one angry woman." He chuckled.

"Are you sure? She won't just be angry. She'll be furious - especially when she finds out you threatened to kill me!"

"It won't be much of a problem, I assure you," He examined his scepter, "Now please do shut up. You have been cooperative, but your voice is irritating."

"Hey…"

"Is for horses, what of it?" He snickered.

"What are you going to do?" Raeni pouted.

"Why, have a chat with the queen, of course!"

o*o*o*o

 **Present**

Loki found what he had seen of this island to be quite interesting. When he'd broken the barrier he hadn't been expecting much, but the tropical island was a pleasant surprise. The girl on the beach had really been a great help in getting the basics and now that he was in presence of the island ruler he could find out more about his new property.

"My niece?" The queen rasped, squirming under his arm, which was still draped around her, "What do you know of my niece?!"

"Raeni is fine, before you ask. In fact, see for yourself," He gestured to the corner of the room and lifted the invisibility he'd placed over the girl, "Not a scratch on her."

"Raeni!" The young queen jerked toward the princess, but Loki held her in place.

"Hold on, I didn't say you could have her back."

"What do you want?! Why are you here?"

"Why wouldn't I be here? I am the king."

"Not on Lyron you aren't!"

"I've conquered the whole planet, Lyron is part of this planet. Unless you want all of the Earth's military might crashing onto your shores, then I suggest we have a chat, Your Majesty."

The woman took a deep breath, glanced once more at her niece, and pulled away from his grasp. Turning her dark brown eyes on him, she nodded.

"Very well. Even though you've broken into my home, trespassed in my country, and kidnapped the princess I am willing to listen."

He raised an eyebrow mockingly. "I feel so honored."

Lusca shakingly sat down at her desk and gestured to one of the fine chairs on the other side. "Please, take a seat."

"Gladly," He made himself quite at home and stared at her, "How long have you been queen? You hardly seem old enough for the position from what I know of Midgardians."

"Eight years or so. From what I've heard that means I have seven and half more years of experience being a monarch than you. Feel free to ask for tips sometime." She said, feeling a bit of confidence. He glared in response.

"And your niece's age?"

"Is that an important factor in this discussion?" Lusca asked politely.

"No, I just thought I'd break the ice a bit."

"I'm fifteen!" Raeni chirped.

"I can already sense the magic in her, but not in you Queen Lusca," Loki commented, examining her, "And from I've seen, most of the people on this island have blue hair while yours remains black. I suppose it could simply be a fashion statement, but am I correct in guessing it has something to do with abilities?"

Lusca sighed, not feeling much like giving him a full explanation. She _felt_ like calling the guards and having this alien thrown in whatever dungeon they'd taken her brother to. However, a queen often had to do things that she did not wish to, and those things had to be done with a smile. So she grinned as kindly as she could.

"How observant of you. Indeed, I possess no magic. Lyron decides its rulers at birth and the ruling royalty is never to have such powers at their disposal. The mark of magic in our people is blue hair."

"So when you say Lyron decides the rulers, you mean the actual island and not the people, right?" He asked curiously, "That is an interesting concept."

"As a ruler already has the power of the law and the power of _respect_ from the people, we believe that they do not also require the abilities to control such a force." Her smile never wavered. This was information taught to her in her school days and she knew the speech well. She'd often gone and spoken to the young ones of Lyron about magic and why she had none.

"And I suppose this would make it hard for your people to accept me, a powerful sorcerer, as their ruler, would it not?"

Lusca didn't tell him that many of the teenagers and young adults on the island had already decided that they wanted to take down the barrier and join the rest of the world in submitting to the man before her. She didn't mention that her own niece considered it a good idea. Instead she shook her head with an apologetic smile.

"I'm afraid they would never allow for you to hold absolute power over our island."

"That is too bad," He sighed, "I was hoping there would be no bloodspill on you beautiful land."

"There need not be." Her perfect smile dropped for a moment and Loki could detect that she would do anything to keep her people safe and out of his control. It was admirable, to be sure, but it would also be irritating in his quest to rule the entire planet.

"Oh?" He propped his feet up on her desk, making sure the sand on his boots dripped onto some official looking papers, "I see no other way."

"There is always a way to avoid violence. It may just take the appearance of the more difficult course."

"Like allowing a more powerful monarch to take control, for instance." He commented with a smirk. She looked away and smoothed her jacket irritably.

"If it is the only way to prevent violence then yes. However, I fear that particular option will only lead to more pain for everyone involved," The young queen met his gaze again and forced another one of those diplomatic smiles, "While we look for the correct course to take I invite you - only you, none of your men - to stay on Lyron in the royal palace as an honored guest." Anything to get him away from her this moment. She needed time to think and make sure Raeni was okay.

"If you really think we can come to an agreement on this matter, my queen," He shrugged, mischief in his eyes, "I would quite enjoy spending time here."

"Wonderful. You will be introduced to my advisors and the people by the end of the day. I look forward to future discussion of our future alliance." She nodded, rising and gesturing to the door.

"I am not a fool." He commented, staying seated, feet still on her desk.

"Pardon?" Her smile dimmed.

"There are guards on the other side of that door, all trained in magic. Perhaps more than I can handle, perhaps not. I'd prefer not to find out," It was his turn to grin diplomatically, "You'll personally escort me to whatever room I shall be staying in."

"Very well." Lusca answered stiffly. Leading the way, stepping by Raeni and squeezing the girl's shoulder comfortingly, she opened the door and stepped into the hall. The guards jumped to attention and their hands wandered to their weapons when they saw Loki behind her. She shook her head at them, but they continued to glare at the other man. They had not seen him enter and he was not an islander, both things that made him highly suspicious. "Guards, if you would please check on the princess, I believe she is in a bit of shock." The men jumped to comply.

Lusca began leading her potentially hostile guest to the residence part of the palace in silence. Before long, Loki hooked his arm with hers and it seemed as if he was taking the lead. He took her to a balcony door nearby and stepped out with her. He closed the door behind them and the queen saw him seal it with magic.

"I apologize for the detour, but I wanted to speak to you without the whimpering princess listening in."

Lusca glanced at the ground below. They were above a fairly cushy looking bush, should she need to jump and run. He saw her worried look and sat casually on the cement railing.

"Don't jump. I would only follow you."

"Forgive me, but I am rather uncomfortable with this situation. Perhaps we ought to have this conversation with my board of advisers present. I trust their opinions very highly and would prefer for any further information to be given in their presence." She would have continued but he lay a finger over her lips. Her brow furrowed angrily and she swatted his finger away.

"Calm down, I promise I will behave in a gentlemanly way, if that's what you're worried about." He smirked and she blushed.

"No offense, but I don't know you and this is improper. We ought to just go inside and have this conversation," She attempted to open the door, but as expected it didn't budge, "Please unlock the door."

"I thought you would like to be the first to know that your protection shield has been taken down. I'm afraid I exposed you on my way in. Well, first to know besides the princess anyway."

Lusca gasped and clutched the door handle for support. "The barrier is down? How?!"

"I told you, I destroyed it," He shifted positions slightly and cocked his head, "How long has Lyron been hidden from the rest of the world?"

"You brought down the barrier?!" She took a few panicked breaths, trying to calm down, but her heart was about to beat out of her chest at the news and she began to tremble, "By the volcanoes!" Breathing was becoming harder and harder and her vision was beginning to swim.

Loki looked vaguely concerned, but on the whole uncaring. "I'd prefer if you didn't pass out."

"In all of our history _I_ am the one weak link to let this happen to us?!" She pulled at her hair, loosening it from the tightly wound bun she'd put it in earlier. She didn't even notice when Loki pulled the tiara from her hair and began examining it.

"It's entirely my fault, but then again, when I conquered this place I was going to do it anyway," He peered more closely at the sapphires set in her crown, "It would have happened sooner or later so don't blame yourself too much."

Lusca finally got control of her breathing again and glared at him. Having no other outlet for her anger, she raised her small fist and punched him in the face. It barely phased him and probably did more damage to her hand than his face, but it felt good to get out some of her irritation.

"I'm not certain if that was supposed to hurt or not. Regardless, I am offended by the effort," He continued to examine the tiara, "Are these gems imbedded with magic?"

"How dare you? How dare you come to Lyron and crush our barrier?!" She raged. He smirked slightly.

"Don't lose your composure, Majesty, it is unbefitting a queen."

Lusca gaped at him and turned around so she wouldn't have to see his smug face. She took a few deep breaths and smoothed her jacket. Taking her hair in hand, she wound it back up again and plucked her crown from his hands, placing it back in its rightful position. Spinning around to face him, she attempted to school her features into another polite smile, but couldn't quite manage. The result was at least professional, if not ladylike.

"I apologize," She said, trying not to grit her teeth while she spoke, but failing, "I do not know what came over me. Please…" Pursing her lips for a moment and glaring at his never dimming smile, she swallowed her pride and forced herself to continue, "Please forgive my outburst."

"Ah! There she is. The cordial queen once more," He leaned so far back on the balcony railing that Lusca hoped he would fall. Unfortunately his balance was not that poor, "I accept your apology," He gave a near imperceptible wink, "And I am pleased to find that there is more to you than all of the diplomacy."

"Thank you for alerting me to the situation with our barrier," She nodded, though her fists were bunched tightly, "If you would please unlock the door I can finish showing you to our guest quarters."

He gave a mocking bow. "Your wish is my command."

The door opened and Lusca felt a bit safer. She mulled over his words. If her wishes truly did command him then she would wish him far, far from her island. As far as the reaches of the universe.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! If you feel like it please leave me a review or favorite or follow (or all three if you are feeling really ambitious). See you in the next update! :)**


	4. Agricultural Emergency

Loki examined the quarters that the young queen had led him to. The room was pleasant and filled with sunshine. The open window allowed the island breezes to cool the area nicely. He was quite comfortable, but that was the problem. He'd been in this room for much too long.

It had been hours since he'd spoken with Queen Lusca about meeting her advisors. Surely if was to meet them he would have by now. While he'd always considered patience to be one of his best qualities, as it was necessary in any scheme, he was feeling irritable at the moment. This queen was a mere bump in the road of conquering the little island and yet he'd agreed to come to some compromise with her.

Giving up on ever being summoned, Loki opened the door, stepped into the hall, and began looking for the queen's room. As he strolled through the palace he noted the great wealth displayed. Obviously Lyron had enough resources to keep itself content. He wondered how they imported some of the treasures that lined the beautiful building. Surely not all of these had come from the island itself.

At the end of the hallway he found the office he'd been in earlier and noticed that the double doors were carved with words in a language he didn't understand. Music played behind the doors, though he wasn't sure if the noise should actually be classified as music even with its toe-tapping beat. The instruments used to play whatever song this was were loud and annoying and the few lyrics he could make out were the same.

Flinging open the doors with a shot of magic, Loki was amused to find Lusca lip syncing as she sorted through a stack of papers. When she looked at him her mouth dropped and she scrambled to the device that was playing the racket.

" _I'm here to tell you, honey, that I'm bad to the bone!"_ The iPod sang before Lusca silenced it. In her haste to stop the music she'd knocked several files off her desk and the papers fluttered across the room. A few landed at Loki's feet and he picked them up to examine them. They were charts having to do with agriculture and if they were to be believed Lyron was doing an excellent job of feeding its inhabitants.

Lusca grabbed the paper out of his hand and quickly shoved it into a file. A blush was lighting up her dark cheeks and she brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. Clearing her throat she glared at him.

"Please knock next time you wish to speak with me."

"And miss seeing your lovely performance? I think not." He laughed, sending a bit of magic to her iPod and unpausing the song.

" _B-b-b-b-bad! B-b-b-b-bad!_ "

Lusca yelped and dashed once more to turn of her device. Her blush was greater than ever now and she looked down at the papers on her desk to try and hide it from him.

"You have quite an interesting taste in music, Majesty," He clasped his hands behind his back and slunk over to her desk. The files were a disaster and many of them had his picture in them. He raised an eyebrow and picked up a photograph of him giving a speech in France, "And it seems a bit of an obsession with me."

"What? Oh!" She grabbed the picture out of his hand, causing him to pick up another, "All of it is research. Lyron has been trying to find ways to help…" She flicked a glance at him, "To help the countries who have been most heavily hit from your invasion."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," She took the photo he held and he picked up another just to annoy her, "Would you please stop messing with my stuff?"

He tapped the insignia of a blue diamond that decorated each file. "This says that these files are the property of the government of Lyron. As I am about to run that government, technically this is _my_ stuff."

"You don't run our government so please stop." She took back the papers he was looking over and he simply took another stack off her desk. The queen huffed indignantly.

"This is a lovely office by the way," He gestured to the intricate lighting fixture that was made up of the same blue gems that decorated her tiara, "I might even let you keep it when this island is mine."

"How generous," She deadpanned. Straightening her blazer again, she pasted that smile on, "May I ask the reason for your visit?"

"You said that you would introduce me to the island and I am holding you to your word," He finally set down all of the files he'd been looking at and smiled genuinely at her, "I hope you aren't too busy."

"As a matter of fact-"

"Excellent! I recommend you assemble your advisors now and I shall make a call to mine. Based on the satelite tower I saw on my way in I assume phones function here, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"Wonderful. As I do not yet know my way around your home we shall have to hold the meeting in this room," He eyed the mess on her desk, "You may wish to tidy up."

"Listen, I am not prepared at this moment to hold a council meeting! You will simply have to wait until-"

"Oh, I'm afraid that won't due. I have a squadron of men waiting to attack at my command and I would hate to break a treaty before we even write it!" He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her dead in the eyes, "Summon your advisors or I will be forced to take action, Majesty."

Lusca swallowed nervously. "Very well," She picked up the landline on her desk and pushed a few buttons, "Councilwoman Vea? Yes, thank you. Would you please call on the other six. I have an important matter that needs the immediate attention of the council. No, I'm fine. Yes, yes, of course. Are you certain?" The young queen sighed heavily, "I understand, thank you for trying. Yes. Thank you." She placed the phone back in its cradle.

"One of the councilmen cannot make it?" Loki guessed.

"Apparently there is an emergency in one of our farming areas. Councilman Agwe will not be attending."

"This hardly concerns agriculture, so it is no matter. The rest of your people will be in attendance." It was not a question.

"Certainly," She licked her lips anxiously, "Take a seat while we wait."

Loki did as she asked, grabbing another file as he sat. Lusca rolled her eyes and, when it became clear he wasn't going to converse with her anymore, she went back to sorting through her files.

Within twenty minutes all of the advisors (with the exception of Agwe) had arrived. As they entered the office they all gasped when they saw him lounging there. Many began whispering behind their hands, but one did not ignore the elephant in the room. A man, not much older than Lusca herself, slammed his fist on the desk. The queen jumped and stared at him.

"Zac?" She asked, worry in her eyes. Loki also spotted something else there. A desire to please was quite evident. Whoever this councilman was, he held Lusca's attention easily.

"What is this _criminal_ doing here?" The blue haired fellow bellowed, "How did he arrive on Lyron? Why has he not been killed?"

"Councilman Azzaca, please, he is my guest here."

"The fact that he was even allowed to set foot on our island makes me question your ability to rule us." The boy seethed. His eyes were ablaze, which caused Lusca's to fill with hurt.

"She is quite competent at her job," Loki commented, "In the past few hours she has been doing everything in her power to ensure that I do not simply blow Lyron to bits. The queen had the same reaction as you do, _Zac_ , when she first saw me, but when she realized the threat that I pose to her people's well being she did her best to steer me away from the prospect of violence," He steepled his fingers and glared at the other man, "It would be a pity for you to undo all of her hard work."

Lusca looked thankful for his interjection, but she was still worried. Loki observed the other advisors and found most of them were many years older than their monarch. Many of them seemed fierce, but others looked as if they wanted nothing more than to roll over and allow him to do as he would as long as he left them out of it. While these councilors disgusted him, they would probably also be the most easily used in the plot he was developing.

"Perhaps we ought to take this to the meeting room where we can all sit and discuss this calmly." An older woman said, looking pointedly at the chair Loki was occupying. He assumed it was because her ancient bones ached so he stood.

"Take my seat," He sat instead on the edge of Lusca's desk, somewhat blocking her view. Her irritated grunt amused him so he didn't move, "I feel we can come to an agreement about the future of Lyron relatively easily. We should be finished within the hour."

"How can you be sure?" An old man asked.

"I already have a plan that I think everyone will approve of. It's quite simple and it allows your island to go on mostly as it always has - of course it won't be exactly the same since the barrier is down," He gauged their reactions to this news and leered at them, "Did Lusca not tell you? I took down your shield on my way in. It's not her fault, so please don't place all of the blame on her. Yes, Azzaca, I saw you open your mouth indignantly, what would you like to say?"

The young man stared daggers at Loki. "You have exposed our people to the world. It will only be a matter of time until we fall to ruin!"

Loki looked over his shoulder at the queen, who was silently fuming by the looks of things. "Majesty, are you alright?"

"Councilmembers, please remain calm. Thus far, Loki has shown signs of cooperation and is open to the idea of peace between Lyron and the countries he rules."

"And if he suddenly becomes opposed to the idea of peace?"

"Then you'll all die," Loki stated plainly, "And I will gain total control of the island."

o*o*o*o

Princess Raeni was listening outside of her aunt's office with rapt attention. Her friends would be very pleased with this development. Maybe they'd even like it so much that her boyfriend would realise that he was wrong to dump her. A grin lit up the girl's face at the thought and she leaned closer to listen.

"What kind of alliance are you proposing?" That sounded like Oria. Her voice had a tendency to whine a little.

"You'll know soon enough," The alien replied, "I don't mean to disclose details at this time, but at the banquet you are holding in my honor tomorrow I will reveal everything."

Raeni didn't remember hearing anything about a banquet. She wondered when that had been planned.

"What banquet?" Vea asked.

"I'm sure you'll get something together." The alien sounded like he was about to laugh.

"Uh, yes," That was Aunt Lusca's voice, "Err, I have a large dinner planned for tomorrow evening." The queen sounded more nervous than Raeni had ever heard her. Part of the teenager wanted to get upset with this alien king for making her aunt stutter, something she'd never done at a council meeting before. The other half of Raeni wanted to agree with him. He had created world peace in record time and she was sure he wanted what was best for Lyron. Raeni's boyfriend had said so.

"The terms of our alliance will involve Queen Lusca still holding the highest position of power here, but all of her major decisions will have to go through me first."

"I'd have to ask your permission to do anything?!" Aunt Lusca stated angrily, "How would I ever run my kingdom if I constantly have to seek your approval?"

"I trust that you will do what is best for your country so only major decisions must go by me." Raeni though that sounded reasonable. The Queen would still be mostly in control and they would have the protection of this king to help them out.

"And I suppose after the queen passes on you will have absolute power here?" Azzaca spat, "The rest of us would have to forfeit our country because Lusca has no heir."

Raeni clenched her fists. The topic of Lusca's heir was a sore one for the princess who was not allowed to rule. It was part of the reason the girl wanted Lyron to join the rest of the countries under Loki's rule. If he was king then there was a good chance that she could hold a position of power someday.

"No heir?" Loki mused, "I suppose you are hoping to help her out with that."

Raeni held back a snort as the council gasped collectively. Everyone knew that Azzaca and Lusca had been close friends for the entirety of their lives. They had even dated once, but Lusca had regretfully broken it off when she'd been made queen. Azzaca was still a tad bitter about it.

"How dare you insult myself and the queen this way?!"

"Zac, please calm down." Aunt Lusca ordered, though she sounded upset.

"I will not be satiated. This arrogant boar has done nothing but fling mud at our great island since he arrived. Your Majesty, I beg you consider gathering our troops."

"You realize I have the whole might of the world behind me, don't you?" Loki scoffed, "Your soldiers may possess magic but I have unlimited resources if it comes down to war."

The room fell silent with the realization that they were insects under his boot and if he decided to put his foot down they would be obliterated. Lyron's warriors, though passionate, were too small a force to make much of a difference in combat against this king. It was a mockery to call the possibility "war", "slaughter" was a far more accurate term.

"To answer your previous question, no. In the event of the queen's death I would allow you to select a new leader to replace her. Or rather, I'd allow whoever the island chooses to replace her."

Raeni said the baddest word she knew. Even with Loki's rule she still wouldn't be important in the future. It was maddening to say the least.

"Will you immediately destroy us if we do not agree to these terms?" Aunt Lusca asked tiredly.

"No. I have other ways to persuade you."

The princess' mind flashed to the footage she'd seen of New York. The golden scepter that had controlled all of SHIELD's heroes was a dominant memory. Would Loki put the council and queen under mind control if they didn't do what he wanted? The advisors obviously thought so because from that point onward their conversation was much more agreeable to the king's plans. Raeni heard them discussing the little details of the future treaty and she would have continued listening if a guard hadn't found her eavesdropping and shooed her away.

Running to the nearest exit, the princess began thinking of all the information she could share with her friends. Her boyfriend would have to take her back after she told him the news. He would be so excited. The whole island _should_ be excited, even if they didn't like the idea at first. Lyron was finally joining the rest of the world.

o*o*o*o

 **That Evening**

Lusca was hiding in her favorite garden. Hiding from the people, the council, Zac… everyone. The sun had set hours ago and she still had much work to do before the "celebration" tomorrow. The thought disgusted her.

After the meeting she'd announced the treaty to her people over the radio, television, and from the squares of the four villages that made up the island. The elder citizens were furious with the prospect. Many accused her of dying her hair black and demanded that they see proof that Lyron had chosen her. It had been worrisome, but the younger members of the audience had an even more frightening reaction. They had cheered. When Loki had stepped up to the podium they had gone wild. It made the young queen sick. The "new ruler" had taken it all with that same infuriating smirk.

On top of everything else Raeni's bodyguard reported that she had gone missing again. The princess, though she'd been terrified of the invader earlier, was no doubt out celebrating his arrival with her friends. Lusca could only hope the girl remembered to behave like a lady.

When everything was going so poorly Lusca questioned why Lyron had approved of her being a monarch. It seemed she had done nothing right since she'd become queen. Her only boast was that their agriculture had improved significantly in her rise to power, but considering the years before had been plagued with famine and drought it wasn't that impressive.

Feeling tears spring up in her eyes, Lusca tried to distract herself by turning on her iPod. She selected her favorite playlist, which was comprised entirely of music from the 1980's, oddly enough. The song that greeted her ears made her laugh pitifully.

" _Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world. She took a midnight train going anywhere…"_ The little pink device sang over the garden area.

Lusca sniffled and chuckled at the same time at how well the lyrics fit her current situation. She began to sing along quietly, trying to cheer herself up.

" _Streetlight people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night!_ "

Unbeknownst to the wet-eyed woman, there was someone else in her garden. He was listening with great amusement to the singing queen. He moved closer and was soon right behind the bench she sat on. At this distance he could see the water streaks on her face. He considered pointing out that a strong ruler wouldn't cry, but for some reason he held back.

" _Don't stop believin', hold on to the feelin'!_ " Lusca sang and then Loki put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to fumble with her iPod and jump a foot in the air. He laughed as she, once again, hurried to hide her music choice from him. This time she was also quick to swipe her sleeve across her eyes.

"Despite my dislike for the songs you listen to, you sing them surprisingly well," He commented, scooping up her abandoned device and scrolling through the list of song titles. All of them were odd and a few made him smile, "Footloose? Eye of the Tiger? Killer Queen?"

"The classics," She gave a very small smile, but it was the first real one he'd seen on her face, "My oldest brother introduced me."

"You will have to show me some of them someday and I can decide if any of them are not wretched." He joked, handing her the iPod.

"What makes you think I'll be interacting with you anymore than just political meetings?" She snapped, obviously not caring for diplomacy at the moment. He didn't blame her. It seemed her entire kingdom had fallen in one day.

"I just have a feeling," He answered, looking away to examine a flower. It was exotic and he hadn't seen any like it anywhere else on Midgard yet. If he sent a team of scientists here after he got back to New York he was sure they would have the time of their lives examining all of the new plant and animal life, "Are the flora and fauna here affected by the magic?"

"I," She tucked her iPod in her pocket and fiddled with the buttons on her blaser nervously, "I really don't know. You could ask Councilman Agwe when he's finished with his emergency. I'm sure he knows all about the plants."

"Speaking of Councilmembers, what claim does Azzaca have to you?" He smirked as she blushed heavily and turned her brown eyes down to her shoes, "I'm just curious."

"Oh, um, well," She looked toward the palace and he could tell that she wanted to run from him, "He and I grew up together."

"There's more to it than that. I see the excitement in your eyes."

"We dated long ago - I don't really see why this is important."

"As I said, I'm simply satisfying my curiosity," He shrugged, "A king ought to know his people."

Lusca nodded politely and then turned to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I have some work that I need to attend to… preparations for tomorrow's party, official papers that need my signature, my niece is missing again… you understand."

Loki was upon her in a flash, causing her to gasp as he grabbed her arm roughly. "Wait for your phone to ring before you go."

"Pardon?" She asked, brow furrowed. He held her still and she was about to try and pull away again when her phone rang. It was the ringtone she'd assigned to all of her councilors (excepting Zac), an official ringing sound instead of the songs and various animal noises she'd given to everyone else. Quickly jerking off Loki's arm, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket, "Agwe? What is it?"

Loki smiled at her in a way that did not bode well. It looked as if he knew something she did not, something that would ultimately cause problems. She tried to ignore him and listen to her advisor's panicked voice over the phone.

"No! How?" She clutched the phone, "Strangers? By the volcanoes, can anything else go wrong today?!"

Loki watched as she paced with the phone in hand. Her face was stricken with horror and he could see the tears forming in her eyes again. She pinched the bridge of her nose and stared up at the stars.

"Yes, get it out, save what you can, and then come back to the palace. I assume you've heard the news?" She sighed, "You were right to worry about him and now I'm paying the price for not taking precautions," Hanging up the phone she turned to Loki and pointed at him accusingly, "You did this, you monster!"

For once his face showed no trace of mischief. "Consider it insurance."

"Insurance?!" Lusca cried, stepping closer to him, "You burned half of our crops! We will perish with no food! Agwe says the ground is burnt so badly they cannot begin planting again for weeks and because of a mysterious substance that has killed everything that touches it we cannot use the soil until we can safely remove the toxin! By that point the growing season will be over! What do you expect the Lyronites to do for food?!"

"I expect they will need to import it," He said calmly, "And for those imports they will need my help. This is the insurance that you will not go back on our treaty. If you break our agreement my men will kill more of your plants and then the livestock. Once you have nothing if you still attempt disobedience all shipments of food will cease."

Lusca covered her mouth as the tears poured from her eyes. It was a genius plan. He was putting Lyron in a position that would make her solely dependant on him and his charity. The once rich country had been reduced to beggars in a matter of hours.

He leaned down to her level and looked her in the eye. "From this moment onward if I say bow, you say 'how low?' If I say smile you say 'how bright?' And tomorrow, when we sign the treaty, you'll be welcoming of any amendments I suggest," His thumb brushed her tears and she pulled away, "Am I understood?"

Lusca turned to run from him, her mind a mess of worry, hate, and fear. He grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. He was dangerously close and she could look nowhere but his face.

"Am I understood?" He growled.

Lusca nodded, trembling. "Yes. I understand."

"If I say run?"

"How far?" She replied quietly.

"I was looking for 'how fast', but that's close enough," He patted her cheek and smirked, "Keep that mentality and Lyron will prosper."

The grip on her arm released and she sprinted from the garden as fast as she could. The king made no move to stop her this time. His business with her was finished… for tonight anyway.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to more. :) Reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated! Do you guys like the random songs I threw in there or should I never do such a thing again? I dunno, the only other time I've tried to incorporate lyrics was in a rather old** ** _Labyrinth (_** **it was a phase, ok?) story *shudders* and that didn't go very well. I kinda like it in this story, but I'm not sure.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Bad to the Bone_** **(George Thorogood) or** ** _Don't Stop Believing_** **(Journey).**


	5. Amendments

Raeni felt a small bit of guilt at running off to her friends while her aunt was so distressed with the fire that had killed the crops, but it had only been a stray spark from a cigarette that had started it off and it wasn't like they didn't have more fields of edible plants. Besides, it had been made abundantly clear to Raeni that she would never need to worry about running a country so this development didn't concern her. Loki had already announced his desire to help them recover from the accident so they would be fine.

The princess was having too much fun to be overly worried about anything right now. Her boyfriend had readily taken her back when she'd told him the _huge_ part she played in helping negotiate the treaty. She'd been out with him and her other friends since she'd been caught eavesdropping the day before. They took a trip to the mining village and attended a dance that was being held in celebration of the new alliance. The teenagers had danced until just before dawn and then climbed partway up Mount Kito to watch the sunrise.

"We were thinking we could go down to the fishing village later and take a boat out. Some of the guys want to try and get all the way to Puerto Rico." Her boyfriend told her.

"I'd love to," Raeni sighed, it would be so much fun to set foot on land off of the little island, "But the celebratory banquet is tonight. They'll be signing the treaty and I want to watch."

"Your aunt has finally done something right by signing." The boyfriend stated.

"Yeah," Raeni hated how he always disapproved of everything Aunt Lusca did, "Things can only get better from here on out, right?"

"Absolutely! Hey, you think you can get me in on that banquet thing?"

"Totally! You can go as my date!" She grinned and elbowed him playfully. He didn't smile back.

"Awesome."

"I'd better head back so the worrywort queen doesn't get too worried about me. I'll see you tonight, okay?" She kissed his cheek, rose, and began the hike down the mountainside.

When she got back to the palace she was humming a sappy song she'd heard on the TV and twirling her waist length blue hair around her fingers. She began dancing a bit as she strode down the halls to her aunt's room. The tune was silly, she knew, but it was so catchy and great for twirling around the palace.

Arriving at Lusca's bedroom door in the residence wing of the building, she was about to knock when she heard shouting from inside. Raeni paused and listened. Eavesdropping was the best way to get information when she wasn't allowed in important meetings.

"...even suggest this?" Aunt Lusca's voice shrieked, sounding almost as mad as she'd been when Raeni told her about her boyfriend. It was not a comforting sound.

"It's not a suggestion if you'll recall our conversation from last night." Loki snarled.

"You can't possibly expect me to…"

"Do you want Lyron to survive or not?"

Raeni's eyes widened. Her aunt was protesting a decision that would help the survival of the island? Why would she put Lyron's future in danger? True, the princess didn't know what this decision was but according to her boyfriend the queen didn't have a good track record with making wise ones while Loki had created world peace.

Someone cleared their throat. "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect. I just do not see how this contract would be logical."

Raeni silently cheered as Lusca apologised. That should set things right. Loki would convince her and then things would go as planned… whatever the plan was. Rather than listen to more of the conversation, the fifteen year old began dancing through the halls again, singing happily as she went.

" _Did you have to do this? I was thinking that you could be trusted. Did you have to ruin what was shiny? Now it's all rusted."_

o*o*o*o

 **Treaty Banquet - Lyron Palace**

At least her niece had been found. That was something good about today. And her dress was fairly comfortable. Those were the only optimistic things she could think of at the moment. Even Raeni being found was tarnished by the attendance of the princess' boyfriend. Lusca could never remember his name, but she knew he wasn't really interested in her niece. He only cared when Raeni brought him information about the mistakes the monarchy was making so he could those facts or rumors to rally his friends against her.

"Aunt Lusca! Did you see the lineup for songs?" Raeni smiled brightly, still clinging to the idiot's arm.

"For dancing? No, I haven't looked," The queen had other things she was thinking about, "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, but I asked them to put on the list especially for you."

The excitement of a surprise lit up the girl's face and Lusca couldn't help but smile. She brushed Raeni's hair out of her face and tucked it behind the small tiara the girl wore.

"I'm sure it will be wonderful, I can't wait."

"Are you okay?" The princess asked, "You look worried."

"No, no, I'm just tired is all. I did not sleep much last night, um, I was too excited," She sighed and rubbed her bare shoulders tiredly, "You look lovely by the way."

"Thanks!" The girl spun to display her turquoise and pink ballgown. It was supposed to resemble a particular beach on the island where the sand was rosy and the waves were so bright it hurt your eyes to look at them, "You look pretty!"

Lusca hadn't even paid attention when her one lady-in-waiting had come in and picked out a dress, done her hair, and painted her face with makeup. As usually, her head carried one of her tiaras, this one bigger than the one she normally wore and with more blue gems.

Glancing down, she saw that he dress was poofy and cobalt blue. It was strapless, which caused her to have to pull it up every once in awhile. She didn't care much for details beyond that. It didn't matter what she looked like. Loki was the main focus of tonight. She was only there to surrender her power and sign whatever contracts he told her to.

"Is the king here?" The boyfriend asked, looking around.

"I'm certain he is around somewhere. Probably introducing himself to the other guests." She wearily looked over the crowd of the village mayors, councilors and their families, other important people in the running of Lyron, and a few personally selecter guests that Lusca had wanted there for support. Above the typically short islanders she easily spotted Loki. He met her gaze across the room and she saw the warning there. Tonight she was only there for appearances. He was running this event and the schedule depended on his preferences.

Councilman Agwe entered the room later than everyone else. He was one of the three people on the island who knew that the crop fires had not been an accident and he looked tired. A smudge of soot was on his face and when the old man approached his queen she smiled as comfortingly as she could and wiped the black spot off his dark face. His white beard stood in stark contrast to his skin and the wrinkles in his face had never seemed deeper.

"The fires?"

"Out. We saved five percent of the potatoes and two percent of the maize. The beans were singed but as long as none of the toxin got to them they will survive," He shook his head, "If the crops on the other side of the island had been attacked we would need to announce a time of famine."

"Have we succeeded in clearing off the strange poison?"

"Touching it causes vomiting and high fevers so it has been slow work. We have a few hazmat suits borrowed from the laboratories, but there is not enough."

"Do we have any idea what it is?"

Agwe rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Whatever it is it feeds off of the magic on the island and that makes it all the more powerful."

"Does it pose any health risk to the villages?" The people were the most important right now. Even if all of their food supplies were destroyed Loki promised them more. However, the imports would only be useful if the people lived to use them.

"It causes illness only when touched and it has begun to root itself in the ground so there is no fear of it blowing to residence areas.

"You have my permission to use any available palace grounds for planting. Tear up the gardens if you'd like," They held nothing but memories of the previous night anyway, "But don't begin until _he_ has left, and don't put it any reports."

"If that is what you wish, Your Majesty."

"It is," She sighed as she saw Loki heading for the raised platform, "If you'll excuse me, I think it is time for the signing."

Lifting her skirt enough to allow ease in walking, she hurried to the little stage and was followed by her seven advisors. Beside Loki she noticed another foreigner. He must have been smuggled onto the island along with the arsonists. This man was nearly as tall as Loki but that's where the similarities ended. He wore a bright and authentic smile, his dark eyes seemed happy, and deep skin tone indicated possible African heritage.

"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you," He smiled at her. His accent sounded Kenyan, "I thank you for hosting this charming party to announce the wonderful news."

"I'm afraid I didn't catch your name." She stated, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. At least this man knew to be polite.

"I am Faraji Yeboah, one of King Loki's advisors."

"In that case, I am sorry for you." She grinned.

He stared blankly at her. "It is a great honor to serve the man who brought our world to peace. I see nothing pitiable about it."

"Mr. Yeboah, it was a joke." Her smile vanished.

"Oh." The man rubbed his arm awkwardly and looked away.

Loki wrapped his arm around her waist suddenly and cameras began to take photos. She only recognized two of the eight photographers as islanders and she wondered just how many people Loki had smuggled onto her island this day and the one previous. The size of Lyron meant that there was little need for her to be interviewed publicly. There was one newspaper for the whole island unless they sent out runners to get different ones. Being photographed from every angle was unnerving and it took Lusca a moment before she'd adjusted enough to the flashes to smile.

When the cameras stopped Loki pulled out the official copy of the treaty. A few more pictures were taken as the king, queen, and all of their advisors were handed pens. Lusca felt the cold metal of the fountain pen in her hand and her stomach clenched.

"Before we begin," Loki smiled at everyone watching, "I would like to announce an amendment that Queen Lusca and I have agreed is needed in this treaty." The amendment that would most likely ruin her life, even if it saved her country.

Murmurs spread through the crowd. Those who were in favor of the alliance were worried that something had happened to prevent Lyron joining the union of the rest of the globe. People opposed had a high hope that the same thing was about to occur.

"To strengthen our alliance we have decided on a matrimonial agreement."

Eyes across the room widened and Lusca felt Agwe grab her elbow. She look in his eyes and saw great concern. She could tell that he was both questioning her decision as well as begging her not to go through with it. He'd been a close friend to her father and she knew he thought it was his personal duty to ensure her safety.

"If Your Majesty does not mind the sentiment of such an action," Loki's arm left her waist and he got down on one knee. Lusca thought she might be sick, "Would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Her heart picked up speed. Her mind screamed in protest. Her legs felt like they might give out. She didn't know why her body was reacting this way. They had discussed this topic earlier in the day. She had known it was coming and yet she felt faint. In the panic her mind wanted to throw out a joke, but she kept it contained. And idea crossed her mind. In front of all these people he could hardly threaten her so why not put in her own terms and conditions?

"If you make me one promise." She replied. His confused and angry expression made her smile.

"And what is that?" He asked, recovering quickly.

"You must promise never to wage war on Lyron." Asking for anything more would be too dangerous as he was already holding her people's survival over her. This still seemed like it was too much to request by the look on his face.

Agwe stepped forward and, using magic, altertered the document before them. The new section stated that, in the result of a marriage treaty between Lusca and Loki there could be no war provoked from either side. Loki glared at the old man and Lusca immediately feared for his life. However, rather than argue the point, Loki rose from his position, roughly jammed a golden ring onto her finger, and produced a pen. He signed his name at the bottom of the paper and gestured for her to do the same. Breathing heavily, she signed her name right beneath his and moved aside for her councilors to do the same. The last signature on the paper was Yeboah's and when he'd finished everything was official.

The audience clapped, some enthusiastically, some only because they knew they had to. When Lusca looked to her niece she winced. Raeni was eagerly applauding and smiling brightly. The girl looked a fool with her blind excitement.

"Majesty, would you care to dance?" Loki asked, offering his hand. Elegant music had started, played by a small orchestral group.

"Would you mind terribly if I sat out for a bit?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. Her whole body was trembling now and she knew that if she attempted to dance she would make a blunder.

"I would mind, in fact." He replied, claiming her hand and leading her out to the dance floor. His hands were as cold as ice, which matched the look in his eyes. Lusca could hardly breath as other couples began joining them on the dance floor. She was engaged to a monster. In the near future she would be married to this horrible man. The thought turned her stomach and caused her to shake even more.

"Please, may I stop?" She felt as though a light breeze could knock her off her feet.

"It would appear odd if we were to stop in the middle of the dance," He squeezed her hand in warning, "You will continue."

"Why have you done this?"

"Dancing is quite a normal thing to do at a banquet such as this." Loki replied with a smirk. He nodded to a couple that they passed on the dance floor.

"You know what I mean," Lusca hissed, "Where is the logic in this engagement?"

"Simple. My advisors suggest that I marry and I am following their advice."

"Why _me_?" Lusca was twirled, though her feet barely moved. Even after she'd stopped spinning it felt as if the room continued to.

"Not only is it the easiest way to keep an eye on you and Lyron, but I also find you to be intriguing."

"There are other 'intriguing' women in the world who are far more powerful than I am. Marry one of them and leave my island."

"Ah, but that would involve getting to know a female that I find detestable and I'd rather not," The hand on the small of her back pulled her closer to him and she cringed as he bent to whisper in her ear, "Besides, I find you to be amusing and I _do_ like to be entertained."

Lusca pulled back swiftly and tried think of an excuse to stop dancing. Perhaps feigning an injury would do the trick. Or if she could find some important matter that needed attending to then he would have to let her go. What if she fainted? Would he fall for it and allow her to stop dancing then?

"You _will_ finish this dance," He ordered, seemingly reading her thoughts, "Or you will regret it."

"I feel ill."

"Pity." Loki spun her again. As she turned she spotted Agwe looking on with concern. She wished that he would step in and help her, but she could think of no plausible reason for him to do such a thing.

"When will the wedding occur?" It was a fair enough question, though she doubted he had an answer at this time.

"How long is a typical Midgardian engagement?"

"Typical?" She couldn't keep from snorting, "Will this engagement be anything close to typical?"

"Here in Lyron it does not matter so much that our marriage is for political gain, your people understand that this is for their own good. Many cultures would agree that it is a justifiable reason to wed, however there are those that are romantics. The Americans, for example, would probably throw a revolution if they knew. I've heard they value _love_ very highly. For the sake of keeping them from protesting in the eyes of all the world we will be an ordinary couple."

Lusca stared at him. "What story will you feed them to make them believe such a thing?"

"I'll say that on a trip to the Caribbean to make agreements with a newly found country I met a queen who stole my heart. You shall continue the tale by saying that you were shocked by my kindness and quickly fell," He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and she winced as if he'd hit her, "After spending a bit of time together we decided that marriage would be a wise decision for both of us."

"By the volcanoes, if they believe I think you kind they are all missing part of their minds." She heard the music begin to slow and breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Midgardians will believe. I control the media at the moment and that will stop rumors from spreading. To the world we shall appear the ideal couple."

"And what does being the 'ideal couple' involve?"

There was no reply. The song ended and the dancers clapped. Before another song could begin Lusca pulled away and attempted to put as much distance between her and her fiance as she could. He watched her retreat with a scheme in his shining eyes.

 **A/N: Thank you so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, I'm really just writing this story for fun, but a little feedback would be nice. Thanks again, please follow/favorite/review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers or the few lyrics I borrowed from Taylor Swift's Bad Blood.**


	6. Family Meeting

There would be no refuge in the gardens anymore. Nor could she hide in her office. Even if either hiding place worked she could not simply abandon this party, it would reflect poorly on her. The people would think she was not invested in the treaty, which she wasn't, but they needed to believe she was so Loki wouldn't poison more crops.

Unable to flee from the ballroom, Lusca tried to join a group and get involved in a conversation. If she was occupied then perhaps she wouldn't have to dance any more. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy dancing, normally she loved it - particularly when Azacca was her partner - but tonight was possibly the worst night in the history of Lyron and she didn't much feel like celebrating. She certainly didn't feel like spending the evening with her future husband. Even now she felt him watching her from across the room and shuddered. She didn't think she could make through the rest of her life like this.

"Aunt Lusca!" Raeni exclaimed from nearby. The queen looked around and spotted her niece near a table of refreshments.

"Yes dear?"

"I spoke with the conductor and he's about to play the song I put on specially for you! Will you dance with me?" The girl had such happiness, such naivety in her eyes that Lusca could not refuse. So the monarch smiled and took the princess' hand. They stepped out onto the dance floor as the conductor quieted the musicians and clicked on a radio and speaker system.

"What song?" Lusca asked as she heard a funky beat start up. A small, genuine, smile crept onto her lips as she recognized it. Raeni swayed and moved her arms around her gracefully.

" _Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody!_ " The radio crooned. Lusca gave in, beginning to dance the ridiculous disco moves she knew. For a moment, with one of her favorite songs playing and with her family so close by, she forgot about her international and matrimonial worries. She and Raeni giggled together while the princess' boyfriend watched in irritation. Lusca wasn't sure if he was annoyed because Raeni wasn't dancing with him or if it was because the queen was behaving ridiculously.

"I found the CD in my dad's old stuff and _knew_ you'd love it!" Raeni grinned, grabbing her aunt's arm and spinning her, Lusca returned the twirl and laughed.

"You were right. Thank you for cheering me up." A hand gripped her shoulder as soon as the song ended and she sucked in a breath, fear and anger filling her once more. Turning to see the face she knew would be waiting for her, she pasted on her most diplomatic smile. It's not as if he could harm her here in front of everyone.

"Majesty, I grow tired of these festivities. The treaty is signed, let us end this." Loki said calmly, though his eyes were alight.

"Such a shame, it is quite the party."

"And here I thought you didn't like the dancing." He sneered.

"Oh no, I love to dance! Perhaps it was the company that was less than desirable," She smirked right back and stepped up to the podium, smiling at her people, "Thank you everyone who has come this evening to celebrate the signing of the treaty, which will surely save Lyron. I could not be more grateful for your company," That was certainly true, she liked having people there who supported her, "But I'm afraid our new king grows weary and requests that you all return to your homes. We will be sure to keep you posted about our engagement and future political developments between Lyron and the rest of the world," She smiled brightly at them, "Goodnight everyone. Sleep well."

Some echoed the statement as they began to exit the ballroom. A few people lingered around, but they were mostly people who lived in the palace anyway. Lusca stepped down from the platform and approached her niece, though she knew Loki would want to speak with her. Raeni was conversing happily with her boyfriend, who looked less than excited to be in the present company.

"You were wonderful tonight, Aunt Lusca." The princess beamed, throwing her arms around her guardian and hugging her tightly. Lusca took in the wonderful scent that followed the girl everywhere. If Lyron had only one scent it would be that of Raeni; a mix of ocean, tropical flowers, and sweet fruits.

"Thank you, my dear. And thank you again for the lovely song. It truly brightened up my day."

"C'mon, Raeni, you said you'd come to the fishing village with us tonight so we can take out a boat." The boyfriend complained.

Lusca felt a panic clutch at her gut. "Oh, dear, must you do that tonight?"

Raeni was about to say some angry retort about being grown up enough to do what she wanted, but when she saw the true fear in her aunt's eyes she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead she nodded, not knowing why the queen needed extra support tonight, but sensing she'd regret not staying if she went fishing.

"Okay. Sorry babe, you're just gonna have to go without me. Maybe some other night."

The boyfriend frowned and clutched her wrist. Lusca pursed her lips and glared.

"You don't have to stay with her if you don't want to," He snapped, "She should be spending time with her new fiance anyways, she doesn't need you to keep her company."

"It's okay, I want to stay," Raeni yawned, "I'm tired from all the dancing we did last night. Have fun fishing."

The boyfriend dropped her hand and stormed off, blue hair bobbing as he left. Lusca breathed a sigh of relief as Loki approached. She wouldn't be alone with the monster and that was the most comforting thought she'd had all day. Raeni could stay with her and maybe that would keep Loki away.

"Majesty, might I escort you back to your room?" He asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not yet ready to retire for the evening. A tradition that Raeni's father started for the royal family will probably keep me up for a few more hours."

"Tradition?"

"After official events the entire royal family meets in the monarch's office and enjoys a few snacks and normal conversation," Lusca explained. It truly was a tradition in their family, though she and Raeni hadn't practiced it for some time due to the girl always being out and about, "I shall see you in the morning."

Loki grabbed her arm and wrapped it around his and smiled at her and the princess. "Considering I'm nearly part of the family, you won't mind if I join you."

"Actually-"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

 **Later**

Even with just the three of them in the office, it felt overcrowded and stuffy. The princess and queen were huddled together at one end and Loki sat behind the desk, going through all of the files laid out there. He'd come to the conclusion that Lusca prefered physical copies of her files, rather than relying on the computers, just as he did. However, unlike him, her paperwork was scattered in apparently random piles with no order to them whatsoever. Whoever he sent to guard over the island would have a difficult time rearranging the mess.

Of course, he knew that whatever dignitary or advisor he put in charge of Lyron would probably be protested by the people and councilors, but it wasn't as if he was going to allow Lusca to stay here. He wanted her where he could keep an eye on her, which was part of the reason he'd invented the marital agreement. As they said, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. How much closer could one get than marriage? It was a good solution to many of his current problems.

The board of semi-trustworthy advisors he'd developed would be pleased that he'd secured a politically advantageous engagement. He'd have an even greater claim to this little magical nook of the world, and the people would not protest him because he'd be wed to their monarch. Lusca would be under the most careful surveillance - his own - and would not be able to attempt any sort of rebellion. Since she'd be in New York with him she would also have limited access to see how her people were getting on under his rule. The only loose end he had now was an heir, but he'd rather not think of that at the moment.

"Aunt Lusca! You can't say that!" The young princess shrieked, pulling away from her guardian and glaring. Loki quirked a brow. The women had been relatively quiet until now and both had avoided him.

"Raeni, calm down. I know you think that he's wonderful, but he's really not!" Lusca argued. It couldn't have been him that they were speaking of, the queen would not be so informal or undiplomatic about it. Loki quickly deduced that it must be some other man on the island who they were bickering about.

"He is! You just don't like him because he speaks his mind about the way you run Lyron," Raeni pouted, crossing her arms, "You can't make me break up with him - I just got him back!"

Ah, the boyfriend. Loki had seen the young man at the festivities a few hours earlier. He'd noted that the fellow hadn't seemed interested in the princess at all and appeared to only want to be there to view the signing of the treaty. Obviously the boyfriend was not returning Raeni's affections.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Lusca's voice dropped a little lower, "He doesn't love you like you love him."

"He does."

"I'd have to agree with Her Majesty on this one," Loki piped up, rising from the chair and stretching, "He stays with you because you have connections with the government. I'm surprised at how blind you are to his indifference toward you. I've only been here two days and it is obvious to me."

Raeni's bottom lip trembled slightly and her eyes became wet. She shook her head, blue hair coming free from her tightly woven up-do. "You're just siding with her because you two are engaged. Bastian loves me."

"Don't be a fool." Loki rolled his eyes and caught a glimpse of confusion on Lusca's face. She was wondering why he was agreeing with her, probably. It wasn't that he was particularly fond of her ideas, but even a blind man could see the power hungry boy wasn't interested in the little island princess with no claim to the throne.

"Shut up!" Raeni yelled, forgetting whose company she was in. There was a build up of energy in the room, "Shut up both of you!" The bulb on a desk lamp exploded into shards of glass. The wallpaper seemed to be changing from a beige tone to brighter hues. Lusca put her hands above her head protectively as the lights on the ceiling popped and poured down on them.

Raeni stomped her foot, forcing the alternating wallpaper to settle on bright red, and then blew off the doorknob with a bolt of energy. The door swung open lazily and the girl rushed out, lights flickering as she went.

The office had been left with two working bulbs, but besides that the two rulers were in darkness. Loki snickered at the outburst and Lusca brushed the glass from her hair while tutting worriedly.

"By the volcanoes!" She muttered, "What just happened?"

"I believe her emotions triggered her magical abilities and, since she has a tentative control over them - at best - chaos ensued," Loki shook his head to get the glass out of his hair and then brushed off his shoulders.

"I know that," Lusca shot him a glare saying she wasn't an idiot, "It's just that her powers have always been… smaller. Her father didn't have any and her mother's were limited. This was far more than I've ever seen Raeni do before."

"Hormonal imbalance?"

"Could be."

"And I suppose the past two days have been an exciting ride for everyone on the island. She may just be confused at the moment."

"Plus, she's tired. Apparently she spent all last night dancing!" She shook her head tiredly, "I just don't know what to do with her."

"I'm hardly one to recommend parenting advice." Loki scoffed. His own experience with parents was not a good one.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to aggravate her - especially not in your presence - but she mentioned that boy and…" She sighed, looked his way, and put on her false smile again, "I shall just have to deal with it at a later date. Thank you for joining us for our little 'after party'. I will see you in the morning." The young woman turned to go.

"Lusca," Loki called her back, "You realize you don't have to be so tactful around me, don't you? I know that you loathe me and what I've done here."

"Yet, if I act out of turn or disagree with one of your decisions you threaten my people."

"That is a conundrum," He smirked and stepped closer to her, "Perhaps I simply want you to act how you normally do. We are going to be married, let me get to know Lusca rather than the Queen of Lyron." He touched her cheek gently, though she pulled away as she always did.

"You are mistaken. Those two people are one and the same."

"You can't be prim and proper all the time," He snatched her wrist to prevent her from exiting the room, though at his touch her eyes filled with fire, "I want to see you furious. Joyous. Excited. Laughing. I want to see beneath the perfect mask."

"You _are_ edging dangerously close to 'furious'. Let go of me."

"If we are to project the image of a happy couple you're going to have to get used to being touched," He pulled her closer still, wanting only to intimidate her, but finding the proximity quite comfortable. She didn't appear to feel the same, "Understand?"

"Even if I do get used to it that doesn't mean I will enjoy it. Let go."

Loki dropped her arm as if it were something utterly repulsive and wiped his hand off on his trousers. Lusca began to leave again.

"What do you think of Yeboah?"

"Your advisor? He is a decent person from what I've seen," She had her back turned to him but he could practically feel her rolling her eyes, "Though why he'd choose to work for you, I've no idea."

"Ah sarcasm! It's a chip in the mask, I suppose," He sat at the desk once more, "What would you say to Mr. Yeboah being your replacement?"

"Replacement? What do you mean?" She slowly turned to face him.

"Well someone has to be here in Lyron to take care of it and attend to the immediate needs of your people." He knew she was about to protest and flicked his gaze up to watch her expression. Admittedly, she controlled her anger well.

"I will be here." She said through grit teeth. He was astonished at the rare showcase of emotion.

"Hadn't I told you? Perhaps I neglected to let you in on the detail that _we will be married_ ," He sneered, "And while Lyron is a charming place, I'd prefer not to live here."

"So you stay in New York and I'll stay here." Lusca shrugged.

"Recall that we must convince the world that we are a blissful couple. Living thousands of miles apart doesn't exactly speak of happiness, now does it?"

"I am not going to America!"

"It isn't as if you cannot run Lyron from afar, I assume Midgardian technology has advanced at _least_ that much," He looked her up and down, taking in the slight trembling of her form, "Besides, you have no choice in the matter."

"You can't just expect me to-"

"Can and do, Majesty, though you still have a fair amount of time until we leave. I'm thinking Tuesday."

"Today is Friday, you think I'll be ready to leave in four days? I have far too much work to do and I must find someone to take my place while I am away. I cannot possibly do so many things in such a little time."

"I suggested Yeboah as a fill in. No? I suppose he isn't an islander. Very well, who would you like to leave in charge?"

"Myself! I am not leaving!"

"Now you are just being contrary. Haven't we discussed this before? When I tell you to do something you obey or Lyron suffers," He smiled slightly, "And you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

Her face froze and she took a deep breath. "Very well," She clenched her fists, "I select Councilman Agwe, he is by far the most qualified."

"And probably the most enlightened about our arrangement, hmm?"

"You asked me who I would leave in charge and I've told you." She spun to leave and this time made it out the door. He watched her go and when the knobless door swung shut behind her he chuckled and went to sit back at the desk.

"At least you are making it challenging for me." He shook his head as he smirked and then continued to look through the files.


	7. Insults

**A/N: Still fixing the mess I made. Yikes. Um, so this is the real chapter seven. Right. I accidentally didn't post chapter six and posted this instead so now I'm trying to fix it. Whoopsies. Thanks for your patience!**

This was probably the first jet to have ever landed on Lyron. They had small aircrafts for farming purposes, and there were a couple of helicopters for government use, but for the most part Lyronites traveled by boat, foot, car, or mule. The jet looked out of place sitting on the beach with a crowd surrounding it and armed men guarding the ramp.

Azzaca felt the urge to stand on tiptoe to see over the gathered people, but didn't wish to look anything but dignified today. He couldn't see her anywhere - or _him_ for that matter. It appeared nearly every person on Lyron had come to see their queen off. Even those who didn't agree with the treaty wanted to make sure that the late King Dayan's sister made it off safely.

Finally, the people began to move enough to allow the councilman to see Lusca. She was dressed as professionally as always in a light blue suit and her silver tiara. Someone had given her a bouquet of flowers. Flowers in Lyron had always been symbolic. If someone were giving you flowers you could be sure that whatever the flower symbolized was felt deeply by the giver.

Azzaca searched his memory for the meanings of the flowers that his queen was carrying. Stephanotis was meant to wish good luck. Nasturtium spoke of patriotism. Yarrow flowers were for good health. The last flower in the bunch was one he had difficulty remembering the meaning for, but he finally recalled that the Casablanca Lily meant there was cause for celebration. He scowled and began to make his way through the crowd to where the rest of the council stood, waiting to say their goodbyes.

Loki was holding Lusca's hand tightly and it seemed the only way that she'd get out of this situation was if someone teleported her away. Azzaca clenched his fists as the couple approached, though he bowed along with all the others.

As the queen turned to the people they quieted their cheers - or boos- and listened. She smiled at them, but Zac could tell it was a front. He saw the worry in her eyes and the dark marks under them.

"Thank you all for coming to see me off. I… we could not have asked for a better farewell. As you know, I leave Councilman Agwe to watch over you while I am away. Though he was not selected by the island to serve as king, I trust him with my life, and more importantly, your wellbeing. Though I leave today, I promise to return soon to ensure all is running smoothly, as I'm sure it will be," She took a deep breath and from this angle Zac could see the tears escaping down her cheeks, "I admit that I am terrified of the journey ahead. After all, I've never set foot off our beloved Lyron. However, I know that the future will hold many wondrous events and this treaty will cause us to be a stronger nation, a stronger island, and a stronger people. Goodbye, my Lyron."

The cheering was nonstop as the queen stepped away from the center of attention and began to address her council. She said goodbye and gave brief instructions to most of them, but when she got to Azzaca she took his hand in hers. Loki was busy giving his own speech so he didn't even notice.

"I will check in as soon as we land."

"Lusca," He squeezed her hand and searched her eyes, "Why are you doing this?"

"You know why I must."

"There are other ways to solidify a treaty rather than marrying him. Why is he so interested in you?"

"I don't know, Zac, and _please_ don't try to make me change my mind. I'm sure he has some logical reason."

"I do not trust him. What if he never returns you to us?" He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, "To me?"

"Quiet! You can't say that kind of thing." Lusca ordered.

"Why not? It isn't as if he cares. He's using you as a pawn."

"Truth be told, _Zac_ , the queen is actually the most powerful piece on the chess board. I'll be sure to use her wisely. But you are right on one account. My reasons are hardly logical." Loki had crept up on them without their notice and was resting his hand on Lusca's shoulder.

"Goodbye, my friend, my queen." He pulled his own flowers to give her out of his jacket pocket and tucked them into the bouquet. When she saw what it was she slumped a little. Her mouth opened to say something, but she just shook her head and was lead onto the jet.

* * *

 **Later**

Half an hour into the flight with only half an hour left and Lusca was still twirling the little cluster of blue flowers between her thumb and forefinger. Every once in a while tears streamed down her face, but she wiped them away quickly, hoping her traveling companion wouldn't notice. He did, but he hadn't felt like commenting until she stuck the thing in her hair.

"I take it this flower has some great sentimental meaning to you?" He crossed his arms and stretched out his legs, tired of sitting for so long, "Was your first date with him in a field of them or something?"

"Huh?" She looked up and wiped her eyes once more, "Err, they're called forget-me-nots."

"How cliche."

"I think you've done enough for today, so if you'd please shut your mouth, I would be much obliged." She shot out, not thinking about the consequences for a moment.

"Oh! Take her off the island and suddenly she has a temper." He smirked at her.

"We've quite a distance to go still and I'd prefer it if I didn't have to listen to you the whole way there. So, if you wouldn't mind…" She mimed zipping her lips and then looked down at her hands.

"That's something you should probably know early on. I tend to be chatty."

"Then talk to someone else. These gentlemen," She gestured to the guards that filled the other seats of the small space, "Seem like they are bored."

"You know, I'm not going to destroy your whole island based off of a few scathing remarks. If you don't want to talk because you fear you'll get angry then please get angry. I'm terribly bored and it's going to take a lot more than a few insults to get me to stop the food supply or anything of the sort."

She didn't move for a moment, but slowly looked up at him with anger burning in her eyes. He thought he saw her smile for a moment, but it could have been a trick of the light.

"Very well, I shall indulge you, you pompous, insufferable, egotistical moron," She seemed surprised at the words coming from her mouth, but that didn't stop her, "Such a blundering idiot like yourself can't possibly have anything better to do than kidnap queens from their countries so I will do my best to entertain you, Your Dumbness."

The armed men in the jet glanced at each other uncomfortably. They weren't sure if they were supposed to do anything when their king was being verbally abused.

"Idiot am I?" Loki couldn't stop a grin, which seemed to fuel her anger more.

"No. That is too good of a word for you, but a queen does not say the types of words I am thinking and therefore I shall have to make do with names such as worm, scum, dirt, and filth," She unfastened her harness and stood, pointing her finger menacingly, "By the volcano! Why would you even need to step foot on my island, you vile trash?! Couldn't you leave well enough alone? No! You had to come and expose us to the world and then," She took a deep breath and laughed hysterically, " _And then_ you decide that you haven't caused me enough problems so you decide 'oh, hey! I'm going to force her to marry me as well! What a brilliant plan!'" She mimicked his voice mockingly and struck a ridiculous pose, "Well did you consider that maybe I had someone else in mind for my future? Did you consider that I wanted to establish my rule a little more before even broaching the topic of marriage? If you did then you didn't act on these considerations because now I'm miles and miles away from home with a wretched man who I don't even know!"

"You should have been prepared to marry for political gain. My parents warned me when I was younger that royalty rarely marries for any other reason. Didn't yours provide the same courtesy?"

"Azzaca is a councilman, that would have been political gain enough for me and for anyone who questioned," She was clenching her fists and shaking with anger, "And now here I am with the supposed 'king of the world', engaged and all. Aren't I the luckiest girl alive?" She spat out, lifting her hand and wrenching the ring off of her finger and throwing it at him.

He caught it deftly and undid his own harness, stepping up to her and leering over her. Rolling the jewelry back and forth across his palm he chuckled.

"So he still holds your heart, does he? It would be in your best interest to keep that to yourself because I'd prefer it didn't get out to the people that my fiancee is in love with another."

She sneered. "And what would you do if I declared how fraudulent our 'relationship' is on television?"

"That _is_ something I would consider treacherous. Azzaca would have to die of course."

Lusca let loose a growl which turned into a furious shriek as she ran her hands through her hair and turned away from him, panting heavily. "So you'll let me yell and scream at you, but the moment I tell anyone else my opinion you'll start murdering left and right? How like you. How very like you!"

He placed a hand on her shoulder and began to utter something condescending. He was abruptly cut off when her fist collided with his mouth. At that the armed men all jumped to their feet and aimed their various weapons at the woman. Loki laughed and turned back to her, a few strands of hair in his face and his lip bleeding.

Lusca's eyes widened and she covered her mouth, pulling back in shock of what she'd just done.

"It is a relief to find that you aren't perfectly in control all of the time." He touched his split lip and healed it.

"I am so sorry!" She was shaking in fear now, "I just- I'm sorry!"

"Let me see your hand," He held out his own hand. She evidently wasn't paying attention because she didn't comply, "Your hand, Lusca."

Jumping, she hesitantly placed her small dark hand in his large pale one. He healed the hand before any bruises could form and slipped the ring back onto her finger. Before she could withdraw her hand he squeezed it gently.

"Don't worry, I won't kill anyone for that."

"Thank you, I'm sorry. That was-"

"Not very nice, but I suppose I almost deserve it."

They hit a patch of turbulence and she tumbled forward against his chest. It occurred to her that he was quite muscular and just as her mind was beginning to think how strong he might be, he set her back on her feet.

"Watch it, you wouldn't want to get too close to 'scum' like myself." He winked.

Lusca caught her breath and meekly went back to her seat, trying not to make eye contact. When she dared to glance over at him he was staring at the ceiling with an amused look stuck on his face.

* * *

 **Half an Hour Later - Stark Tower, New York City**

The building was impressive, Lusca had to admit. With a landing pad right on the top floor and shimmering glass everywhere. A battered "A" still hung from the outside, but looked ready to drop at any moment. The inside was filled with slightly broken, but luxurious things. There were several dents in the walls and she couldn't help but stare at a giant indent in the floor that was vaguely man shaped.

She and Loki had gotten off the jet at the same time, but he'd rushed off to attend to some business. As Lusca took in the portion of the penthouse she'd been left in, she didn't notice a red haired woman enter, hands on hips and a scowl on her lips.

"So you're her."

"Pardon?" The queen turned to face the other woman.

"You are the one who he's marrying?"

"Yes." Lusca was briefly concerned that this was some jealous girlfriend who'd she'd have to deal with. Not wanting to make any enemies in this strange new place, she offered her hand and bright smile.

"I am Lusca, might I ask who you are?"

The redhead grabbed her wrist rather than her hand and twisted it behind her back. Lusca gasped in pain and resisted the urge to shout for help. None of these people knew her, none of them cared if she was hurt or not. She was a stranger to them and not their queen.

"Well, you aren't carrying," The red haired woman noted, releasing her grip and giving a little smile, "I'm Natasha."

"Is it… common for Americans to greet each other in this way?" Lusca rubbed her wrist.

"No, but I'm Loki's personal body guard and I thought I'd better check for weapons. Sorry if it seemed rude." She smiled again.

"I see. Please don't do it again. I have never carried a weapon in my life and I do not intend to in the foreseeable future."

"Sorry," Natasha gestured to an elevator, "C'mon, I'll show you your quarters. Ever been to New York before?"

"No."

"Then you'll have a lot to see!"

"I suppose so."

"I guess if you two royals need to go on any dates for the public view there will be plenty for you to do."

"Perhaps a trip to the Statue of Liberty, I have always wanted to-"

"Doubt that's going to happen, what with the demolition plans." Natasha shrugged, summoning the elevator and stepping inside. Lusca following with a slack jaw.

"Demolition? Of the Statue of Liberty?!"

"To be replaced with-"

"Let me guess, a statue of Loki?"

"Ha, close. A commemorative park to celebrate the 'Great Battle of New York'."

" _Great_ my boot! Think of the lives lost! The pain!" She crossed her arms, "The outcome."

"Hey, I don't make the decisions around here," She inclined her head slightly, "Here we are." The doors opened and the two women stepped out of the expensive elevator into an even more expensive looking hallway.

"This building is beautiful! I can see why Loki decided to use it." Lusca marveled at the decor and architecture.

"Stark really did a nice job with this place - or rather, Ms. Potts did."

"Tony Stark," Lusca sighed, "Terrible what happened to him. Was there a funeral?"

"No. He's not dead. Just frozen."

"Why was he not controlled like the rest of that task force?"

"Couldn't be. It's complicated."

They were silent for a moment as Natasha lead Lusca to a suite of rooms. It was almost like a tiny apartment with it's kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom, and sitting area.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Lusca asked finally.

"One of the Avengers? Yes I was."

"Did it hurt? The mind control or whatever it was?" After talking about the Battle of New York, she had recalled that Loki had the ability to compromise anyone and now she was fearful he might do the same to her. After all, it would be much simpler than having to put up with her outbursts and her unwillingness to help him.

"It was enlightening." Natasha said without emotion. Her eyes were blue as they had been in the footage Lusca had seen, but they did not glow as brightly as they'd seemed to during the battle.

"Hmm. Might I have a moment or two alone? If not, I understand. Security protocols and whatnot, am I right?" She tried to smile.

"You can have as much time as you'd like. Your luggage should be here in a few. If you want to explore let me know through this intercom here. Loki's office is one floor down, in case you were curious, and his suite is just down the corridor. Com if you need anything."

"Thank you. It was very kind of you to answer all of my questions and show me around."

"You're welcome." And with that, Natasha was gone.


	8. Security Breach

**A/N: THIS ISN'T ACTUALLY A NEW CHAPTER! I messed up big time. I forgot to post the real chapter 6 so I just now added it in. It's supposed to be between the chapters titled "Amendments" and "Insults". I'm really sorry about that. Sheesh. So, it should all be good now. I have no idea how this happened as I _usually_ post chapters right after I finish writing and editing them. My bad. Thanks for your understanding. :P**

"Has she settled in without issue?" Loki asked Romanoff as he tucked away a few papers, tired of his work for the day and setting it aside at a good stopping point.

"If you mean Her Majesty, then yes. She's been unpacking and reading a book that she brought with her. There hasn't been a peep from her for hours and she hasn't left her rooms."

"Behaving herself. How boring," He stretched and then strode over to the door, "I'd say a visit is due, wouldn't you?"

"It's not up to me, but I think she needs time to get used to her surroundings," Natasha stated, arms crossed and no emotion on her face. Loki was noticing that was how it had been with this one. She never showed her feelings around him and she was always offering suggestions. Suggestions that he usually followed due to their logical nature. He wondered if the effects of the scepter were beginning to wear off and she was secretly trying to undermine him with these hints and tips.

"No," He decided, "She has had more than enough time to acquaint herself with the place. Why don't you go assist Barton with whatever he's up to?"

Romanoff nodded and wandered off. Loki watched her go with suspicion. She was acting the same as she always had these past six months, but how she'd always acted was stone faced and quiet. From what he'd seen of her before the scepter, she was always executing some plan or scheme. The question was, what was the plot this time and was it with mal intent toward him?

Problems for a later time, he decided as he headed toward the elevator. When he arrived at the door to Lusca's suite, he glanced at a nearby mirror and smirked. He ruffled his hair slightly and used magic to change into something more casual. He'd taken to wearing Midgardian suits recently, as they were a lot more comfortable than his full Asgardian armor - though his time in Lyron had been spent mostly in his traditional look - and he thought something as simple as a black shirt and pants might be just the thing to intimidate Lusca. For extra measure, he frowned and opened the door without knocking.

The young queen was sitting, curled in an arm chair in the living area. She jumped slightly when he slammed the door behind him and waltzed in. Rather than give any sort of greeting, he strode over to the mini bar and poured himself a drink. As an afterthought he poured one for her as well.

"It would be appreciated if, in the future, you knocked before entering my rooms." Lusca commented as he sprawled out on another arm chair as if it were a throne.

"Why should I? I own this building, do I not?" He handed her the glass of spirits.

"I might have been dressing. Or sleeping."

Downing his own beverage in one swallow, he stared at her with a slight frown.

"We are to be married. It would happen eventually."

Sipping at her own drink and then setting it on a coaster, Lusca looked back to her book and shook her head slightly. Turning the page, she clucked.

"And here I thought you might be gentlemanly."

"Majesty," He laughed harshly, reveling in her flinch, "There is nothing gentle about me."

"Hmm," Her finger followed along with her reading, underlining the words with an imaginary guide, "I'd still prefer if you knocked."

"What are you reading?" He asked. When she didn't respond, he snapped his fingers and the book landed in his lap, "'Norse Myths'. Trying to figure me out, are you? I can tell you that you won't find anything accurate in here."

He snapped his fingers again and the book vanished from sight. Now, with the book gone, Lusca had nothing to hide behind and had to face his sneer. She seemed to squirm under his gaze and he reveled in her discomfort.

The words she'd said on the plane must have flashed through her mind because she began to straighten up. Unwinding her legs from beneath her, she placed her feet on the floor and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Shoulders thrust back and chin lifted, she appeared to be trying to maker herself bigger.

"Is there something I can do for you this evening?" She asked briskly.

"Not at all, I just wanted to see how you were getting on."

"Fine. You have a lovely home. However, I am very tired from the trip."

Smirking at her attempt to politely get rid of him, he leaned in closer and reached to grab her drink. Lingering in the close position he held eye contact and Lusca held her breath. He pulled back with the drink in hand and swallowed it all. She winced.

"Might I inquire if you are drunk?"

With an overloud laugh, he smashed the glass on the floor and leaned back in his chair. Staring at the ceiling as if it were far more interesting than his current company, he briefly wondered how he was ever going to make this marriage thing work. Though he was displeased with Odin, he'd always wanted a marriage as happy as his parents. To begin with they had married for political gain, but they'd fallen in love after their first few meetings and had kept that love going for the past couple of thousand years. Being married to a Midgardian, Loki felt, would never result in anything more than a slightly less bitter relationship than they had now.

"If I were to get drunk, it would not be on two servings of this weak liquor," He met her curious gaze with a cold one and laughed again, "Why? Would you like me better if I were?"

"Not likely. You just seem to be in a… jolly mood?"

"I have officially conquered the entirety of your world. I'd say that constitutes being jolly, wouldn't you?" His hand snapped out and caught her chin, "On top of that, I've just gotten engaged. Who wouldn't be totally thrilled with the current events? Oh, apart from you, of course, you sour thing."

"If you would be so kind to release my face, I might not feel so sour."

"My dear Majesty, is that an order…" He leaned in so close that one more inch would have had them kissing, "Or a request?"

Lusca went stiff as a board, but she didn't try to pull away. "A request."

"Then you've learned already," He let go of her face, but didn't move, "You are a queen with no power. You no longer give orders."

"Sir, there's a security breach I thought you might want to know about."

Loki sighed and finally distanced himself from Lusca, whose hands were shaking. Sending a glare to the doorway, where Romanoff stood at attention he was tempted to roll his eyes. A small smirk played at the corners of her mouth, but was quickly banished.

"Security breach?" He asked.

"Yes. A reporter snuck into the kitchens. When we caught him he claimed that he works there, but his ID badge doesn't check out and none of the other staff with vouch for him. Besides that we found a notebook with the outlines for an article in it. From what we can tell the article was going to be about the work conditions here in the tower."

"What did he have to say about those conditions?"

"He wrote that part in code so we aren't entirely sure."

"He wouldn't feel the need to hide it unless it was not in our favor. Bring him here."

"To my rooms?" Lusca asked at the same time Romanoff nodded and exited.

"Why not? That will make quite the story, will it not? I had hoped to get used to the idea of you myself before telling the world of our relationship, but I won't waste a good opportunity."

"So you are just going to flat out tell this strange reporter about our arrangement?"

"No, no," Loki grinned, "He'll see it for himself."

"What do you want me to do? Shove the ring in his face and let him figure out the rest?" Lusca raised an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you tell the people about Lyron before you announce that you've decided to marry the queen of a newly discovered country?"

"No one needs to know that we are engaged yet." He eyed the door, waiting for the sound of footsteps down the hall. It was a good fifteen minutes before he heard the elevator arrive on the floor. In those minutes Lusca had been asking him questions, none of which he answered.

"Give me your ring," He commanded. She fell silent and slipped the golden band from her finger, handing it to him. Tucking it in his pocket and out of sight, he heard the footsteps get closer, "Remember what I said about you being powerless? Keep in mind that if you don't play along things could get unpleasant for your people."

"Play along with what?"

The footsteps were only a few feet from the door now.

Loki took Lusca's wrist and pulled her over to him, standing as he did so. Grasping the back of her head he placed a kiss firmly on her lips. Shocked, she didn't move. He kissed her again right as the door to the room opened. Holding the position longer than was probably necessary, he grinned as he pulled away. Lusca was about ready to scream, it appeared, but his warning must have crossed her mind because she put up a very fake smile.

"Whoa! Uh… I think I might be in the wrong room."

Loki turned to see a young man, probably about eighteen covering his eyes and blushing a bright red hue.

"Ah, the security breach, I presume?"

"Yep, that's me. Can I look now?"

"Yes." Lusca squeaked.

"Sorry, um, the agent lady told me to come in here and I wasn't expecting to, err, uh… interrupt."

"No need to apologize," Loki slunk over to the boy and took the notebook from the guard who entered behind him. He scanned the pages and found that the English writing fizzled into numbers and symbols halfway down, "I don't suppose you'd care to explain this bit to your king, would you?"

The boy looked about ready to object before Loki silenced him with a glance.

"Oh don't go spewing that rot about 'you're not my king' or 'someone will stop you' because I'm getting extremely peeved at having to execute people who say that. I think the media is a bit bored with it too," He flipped through the other pages of the notebook nonchalantly, "Ooh, I rather like this."

Lusca snuck a look over his shoulder to see the amusing drawing of big headed Avengers taking on an even bigger headed Loki. The characters stood in front of an intricate design of bubbly circles.

"Could you please not look through my private property?"

"He's not very good at that," Lusca muttered and then smiled falsely again when Loki gave her a wry look.

"What's your name, reporter?"

"Layn, Lewis Layn. I work for the Daily Bugle."

"Hmm, I've heard of them," Loki continued to flip through the notebook until he'd seen it all, "It doesn't look like there is much in this besides doodles and case notes."

"Not really," Lewis' eyes narrowed for the briefest of moments and Loki smirked, "Just interview notes and drawings. Nothing important really."

"Oh good, I'd hate it if this," Loki tossed the notebook in the air and it was enveloped in green flames, disintegrating within seconds, "Happened to something important."

"My notes!"

"His notes!" Lusca agreed.

"Your notes," Loki nodded, "All gone. Oh except this," He held out the previously seen drawing, "I'm keeping this."

"But, but, but…"

"Now, if you ever want to walk the streets as a freeman again you'll listen to my bargain."

"I don't like making bargains with evil dictators, thanks all the same."

"Lewis, Lewis, Lewis…" Loki put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You don't really have much of a choice."

"Hear him out," Lusca said quietly, causing Loki to raise an eyebrow, "Whatever he has in mind might not be worth dying over."

"Precisely, and I'm sure you'll agree once you hear my proposition."

"I doubt it."

"Very noble of you to say so," Loki stepped away with a swagger and smiled, "Of the notes I read it seems like your stories make it into the papers frequently. It seems Jay Jonah Jerkface, or whatever his name is, is a fan of your writing. The front page articles in the Daily Bugle all seem to be written by you."

"So? Is that a crime?"

"Not in the least. The content of those articles borders on treasonous, but you haven't crossed the line so far so I'm willing to let it slide," He sat down again and steepled his fingers, making eye contact with first Lusca and then Lewis, "I'll even let your security breach slide if you do one thing for me."

"And what's that?"

"I want you to write an article about an island. A magical island in the Caribbean."

 **A/N: Not that that many people read this story anyway, but to possibly deter more of you, I just wanted to let you know that this story might have too many OCs. And I might use the OCs too much. But whatever, this is fanfiction, right? I can do what I want. I'm going to try to use more canon characters than I normally do to kind of balance out the OCs, but no guarantees about that happening. So if you are opposed to lots of OCs then leave now and never return (jk, you can do whatever you want, it's fanfiction, right?).**

 **Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave the very first review! Or you could join those 3 awesome people who favorited, or the 7 wonders of the fanfic world who followed. Totally up to you. Do it. Now. Feed my ego. Lol, jk, jk... but seriously.**


	9. Caribbean Queen

"Aw man, working here is great, don't you think?" Clint Barton rambled, "I mean, so much better than working for SHIELD, eh Nat? We get to help with a greater purpose. I feel so, so, so… purposeful. Don't you think it's just the greatest thing ever?"

Natasha Romanoff rubbed her eyes tiredly, having listened to her friend go on like this for about an hour as they stood guard outside the foreign queen's room. Normally, neither of them would be standing guard of anything - their skills were better served doing other things - but with Loki, Lusca, and this Lewis Layn guy all in the room and talking about classified information, it was best to have the best ready for action.

"And these _uniforms_! So comfortable, am I right? Why didn't SHIELD ever let us wear cotton? Just because Fury has a thing for leather doesn't mean _everyone_ wants to wear it. Cotton breaths. Leather just sits there. Dead. And, I mean it is dead being skin from a cow and all, but you know-"

"Wait! What was that sound?" Natasha shushed, crouching.

"I didn't hear anything."

"There it is again!" She glanced at her partner to see if he was buying it, "Clint you'd better go check it out, it sounded like it was coming from the elevator shaft!"

"Crap, why does this stuff always happen on my watch?" Clint groaned and jogged off to the elevator around the corner.

"Finally, some quiet," Natasha leaned against the door with a smug grin. It lasted for about fifteen and a half seconds before the door to the room swung open and she was back standing at attention. Stiff as a board and eyes looking off vacantly, she bowed slightly as Loki passed by. The king had his arm wrapped around the intruder's shoulders and seemed to be filling him in on the details of the mysterious island, Lyron.

"And once the Bugle has published that story I'll have another for you right away," Loki said, gesturing back to the room they'd just exited, "One about my 'good friend' and myself."

"Alright, and you promise you won't kill me?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die as it is said," He got a crafty look in his eye, "And if this little symbiotic relationship keeps up, Lewis, I'll even see about taking care of that terribly sick little brother of yours, hmm?"

"How'd you know-?"

"I have my ways," Loki smirked and Natasha had to suppress an eyeroll. The "all knowing king" actually wore an earpiece and Natasha herself often fed him information through it when he thought it would be useful. When he wasn't cheating, he usually was simply observant and came off a bit omnipotent to the average person.

"Okay, yeah, um," Lewis fiddled with the strap on his backpack, "I'll talk to JJJ tonight about publishing that story. Might even get it on the front page tomorrow. It'll be all over the web too, and TV."

"Wonderful. Now you get home to your dear worrying mother and get that story published," He clapped the boy on the back and turned to go. Natasha took this as her cue to escort Lewis from the premises and stepped forward to do so. Before she could, however, Loki cleared his throat.

"Have Barton escort him out. I'd like to have a word with you."

"Yes, sir."

When Clint came back around the corner with reports of nothing odd going on in the elevator shaft, Natasha dumped the boy on him and turned to follow the king. She stayed an appropriate distance away from him and did her best to stare dazedly ahead. They walked back into Queen Lusca's rooms, where the islander glared at both of them. Natasha could practically feel the daggers being stared at her.

"I know you aren't an ordinary man, but frankly that was uncalled for!" Lusca snapped.

"What? Giving out information about Lyron? It would have happened eventually."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Her hands balled into fists and Natasha couldn't help but route for the younger woman to take a swing at Loki since she was currently unable to.

"You're referring to the kiss then?" He sneered, "What? Didn't enjoy it?"

"You vile-"

"Not important," He turned to Natasha, "I'm reassigning you. Barton and Rogers will take over security and the general running of this place. You are to be Her Majesty's personal bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard. I'm not going anywhere, am I?" Lusca crossed her arms.

"Not yet," He glanced out the window, "Besides, I'm sure you two will have fun. Talking about… eh…" he shrugged, "Outfits? And hair? Perhaps the best way to kill a man?"

"You're right," Lusca furrowed her brow, "Perhaps Ms. Romanoff can give me some tips on how to deal with unwanted suitors."

"And you can, in turn, teach Romanoff how to single handedly ruin a country," He winked and straightened his shirt sleeves, "She'll be moving into the suite next to yours so you'll have plenty of time for all of that heart to heart and hair braiding."

Stepping toward the door, he snapped his fingers and both women were suddenly wearing pink polka dot pajama pants and tops with matching fuzzy slippers. He laughed like the maniac that he was and vanished down the hallway.

"Where in the world would he even have _seen_ pajamas like these?" Natasha muttered, irritated to find that her gun was missing from the new ensemble, "Has he been watching old Disney Channel sleepover movies?"

* * *

The next few days proved to be extremely productive. Lewis Layn's article lead to many scientists wanting to question Loki and Lusca, whom the article mentioned was staying in New York on a diplomatic mission. There was a press conference, which both monarchs handled marvelously and then another article surfaced about how Loki had heard about a terrible fire on Lyron and was now assisting by exporting goods to the island. People were eating up the idea of a magical island and the public loved Lusca whenever they caught a glimpse of her.

Loki didn't want her to be too well known, just yet, however. That would come after a few more weeks - maybe even a month - and then the world would get to see the strange queen as much as they liked. When they were to the point of adoring her, he'd have Lewis circulate the rumor that Loki and Lusca were becoming an item. When the rumor was burning strongly a real article would come out about how they were courting.

Time depending on how well _that_ was taken, he'd eventually stage a romantic proposal. In fact, he'd arranged for a ball of sorts to take place in three months time to celebrate the first ever complete union of all of the Midgardian countries. It would be an ideal place to pop the question for the eyes of the public and there would be plenty of reporters there to spread the news.

Now he just had to keep Lusca out of the way and well behaved enough to play her part and they could be married easily within the year. That ought to keep his advisors happy for the time being.

Currently searching through the penthouse kitchen, he found himself pleased enough to be humming an old tune his mother - _Frigga_ \- used to sing to him. As he was digging food from the refrigeration device he heard soft footsteps behind him and turned to see Lusca, dressed as primly as ever and looking at an speaking into a cellular phone. Evidently, she hadn't yet spotted Loki so he blinked and made himself into a repair man. As the queen settled on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, he pretended to be fixing the fridge while listening in.

"...finally was allowed a phone. I know," She sighed, "I know, Zac, I understand that you were worried."

There was a long paused and Loki assumed Azzaca was ranting about how Lusca was supposed to have called the moment she landed, but had instead waited four days.

"How is Agwe holding up? Good, good," she grabbed an apple from a fruit basket and rolled it back and forth across the countertop, "And… Raeni?"

Loki glanced over his shoulder at her and saw that her eyes were a tad wet. He supposed she must miss the idiotic island princess, and probably the island itself - not to mention the fool Azzaca.

"She did _what?!_ " Lusca exclaimed, "Is she there? Let me talk to her! Raeni! How could you? All the way to Puerto Rico? With _him_? What were you thinking?!"

So the princess had left the island… and been taken back by the sounds of things.

"No, no! I've had enough of that boy! You are forbidden to see him anymore. I don't care if it's unfair, it's final. Oh no, don't you drag that alien into this. You know that he has nothing to do with this. No, I will not put him on the phone. He's busy, that's why," she was gripping the apple tightly now, "I don't know what he's doing, but I'm not going to interrupt him so you can ask him to overrule my decision. He has no business in the affairs of our family-"

"Though you're aunt is completely right and your boyfriend is a lowlife who cares nothing for you, I am pleased you sought me for answers, Princess," Loki had snatched away the phone and dropped his disguise, "Therefore, I will grant you the right to see him whenever you like and even leave Lyron if you wish it. You're welcome. Farewell," he hung up and handed the phone back to Lusca.

"Do you _want_ her to get herself hurt? And, in the future, please do not eavesdrop on my conversations!" She hopped down from the stool and began walking away at a brisk pace.

"I don't really care what happens to the girl, but I do like to get you riled up. And, in the future, don't have your conversations where anyone can hear them if you don't want me listening in."

She looked as if she were about to snap at him again, but instead she took a deep breath and turned away. Walking briskly, she was out of the kitchen and headed for the elevator. Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed her. When they reached the elevator she pushed the "down" button.

"Your room is on the floor above us," Loki commented.

"I am aware."

"So where are you going?"

She looked him in the eye and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize no one had informed you that this symbol," she pointed to the arrow on the elevator button, "Means 'down' on Midgard."

The lift arrived with a cheery ding and both of them climbed inside. Lusca, despite her confident expression, kept a good distance between them, wedging herself in the corner. Loki automatically leaned on the wall far too close to her for her to comfortable.

"If you won't tell me what you're up to then I'll simply have to follow you wherever it is you are going."

"I'm meeting Lewis Layn in a conference room. He requested pictures of Lyron and I am going to show him a few to see if he would care to use any in his articles," she moved forward as the elevator arrived at its destination - the twentieth floor - but Loki put his arm in front of her to prevent her from leaving.

"Be sure you don't say a word about our… marital arrangement. I don't want word getting out yet."

"I would never!" she smiled again, "I don't exactly want word going around that I'm engaged to the most insane man I've ever met so you've nothing to worry about."

"Good. Be back upstairs by six. We'll be having dinner, you and I, with some formerly important people. Should be loads of fun."

"Quite."

* * *

After showing a few dozen photographs to Lewis, Lusca realized that it was getting near to five o'clock and she hadn't even determined what she was going to wear for her first meeting with other countries' dignitaries. She said her farewells to the young reporter and rode the elevator up to the penthouse levels.

In her rooms she found Agent Romanoff sitting on the sofa, viewing security camera footage on a tablet device. The redhead looked bored and Lusca felt bad that she'd been taken off her other job to babysit her.

"The king informed me that there is to be a dinner tonight with a plethora of political guests," Lusca noted, kicking her shoes into the corner and draping her blazer over the back of a chair, "Any ideas as to what to wear?"

"I think he had someone drop your clothes off," Natasha pointed to Lusca's bedroom, never taking her eyes off the screen before her.

"He did?"

The queen went into her bedroom and found a floor length, simply elegant dress hanging in the closet. It was lovely, but it was also a dark shade of green. Lusca wrinkled her nose at the color. The queen of Lyron always wore cobalt to formal events as that was the color of her people. Wearing green would break a few centuries of tradition and on top of that it wouldn't match her tiara.

"Oh no, this will never do."

Instead she dug through the things she'd brought with her until she found what she was looking for: a knee length, cobalt, sleeveless dress with matching heels. It was one of her favorite things to wear to formal outings because the way the sheer hem was sewn reminded her of waves.

Once she'd put it on, she decided to go with the semi-formal tiara instead of the much heavier one she wore at important events back home. It wasn't as if these people would know the difference.

Glancing in the mirror, she decided she was satisfied with her look and she still had loads of time before dinner. This gave her the chance to sit down with her iPod and listen to a few songs to build her confidence.

* * *

Fidgeting with the tie on his suit, Loki approached Lusca's suite. He had planned on just barging in, but he figured that he'd already annoyed her more than enough today so with a roll of his eyes he knocked briskly. There was no answer for a minute and then Romanoff cracked open the door.

"She's still getting ready, sir."

" _Still_?"

"Well, I don't know that for sure, but she hasn't come out of her room yet."

"Absurd. We've got to be in the dining room in five minutes," He shoved past the agent and strode to the door to Lusca's bedroom and knocked loudly. There was no response so, with the turn of his wrist, he broke the lock and barged in.

"... _now we're sharing the same dream, and our hearts, they beat as one. No more love on the run…_ Gah!" She'd been dancing around with her iPod in hand, but when he entered she jumped a foot and dropped the music playing device.

"You know, there's a reason I had the other dress delivered - I wanted you to wear it," He scowled at her blue ensemble.

Her chin lifted haughtily.

"A queen of Lyron never wears _green_ to a public or formal event."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," She picked up her iPod and silenced it, "And it's too late for me to change now so don't bother putting up a fuss."

"Majesty," He sneered, "Really, you must remember that in a short time you will no longer be Lyron's queen, you will be mine."

"And does that mean I have no say in what I wear?"

"Or what you say or do in public. Every move you make will be strategized to further my agenda. You'd best get used to it now."

"As I said, it is too late for anything to be done now. Let's go before we are late," She dropped her iPod onto the bedside table and turned to go. Loki quickly caught her elbow as she moved past him and offered his arm to her. With a loud sigh, she took it and they headed for the elevators together.

As they rode down in silence Loki smirked and waved his hand over Lusca's dress. She gasped and looked down. While he hadn't made the dress entirely his favored color, the hem was now a dark shade of green that slowly faded into the blue. When he looked at the woman wearing the dress she was narrowing her eyes at him with such fury in them that he couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" He snickered, "It's a compromise, is it not?"

Before she could respond, the elevator doors opened and they were now faced with a dozen dignitaries staring straight at them. Loki smiled confidently and when he glanced at his companion she had schooled her features into a polite smile as well.

They moved as one toward the dining area and the other men and women followed suit. Once at the table, Loki greeted each of them by name - if he recalled it, if not he just skipped them.

"Thank you for gathering here today. Before we get started I am sure you all have seen Queen Lusca on the news?"

"Pleasure to meet you," she nodded.

"I'm sure the pleasure is theirs," Loki lifted his wineglass, "To the peace that we shall maintain and to new discoveries."

Everyone drank their wine and once the glasses had been set down, Loki smirked widely. Immediately a man and two women dropped to the floor. Lusca, along with the others gasped.

"No one bother to help them. The antidote cannot be found on Earth."

"You poisoned them?!" The former president of the United States asked.

"Mmm, yes. They were never loved by their people and evidence shows they've been circulating propaganda against me. Unfortunately, they are too important for me to have executed in public. Now they will have mysteriously disappeared."

"And if we say anything about what actually happened?" The former president of Spain questioned.

"I assure you that your deaths won't be as painless as these were."

Worried glances were exchanged throughout the room and then the first course was brought in and served. Everyone was wary of the food on their plates and a few people only nibbled nervously. Lusca was not one of them. Loki guessed that she felt safe in her position as his betrothed and did not fear poison. She was mostly right if that was how she felt. He wouldn't kill her unless he had a very good reason for it… or until he had an heir. After all, he wouldn't need her from that point onward.

Not that he was planning on having an heir anytime soon. Or even killing her after he had one. If he did he was sure his councilors would simply recommend he remarry and on top of that he'd have to fake mourning and then raise a child by himself. All while running a vast kingdom. No, killing Lusca would not be done unless he absolutely had to do so.

When the first course was finished and the second on its way out, he decided to initiate conversation. That started an hour long discussion about what form of currency should be used globally or if they should stick to what they'd been using.

Lusca seemed eager to join in on the conversation, but none of the other leaders were letting her get a word in. Loki himself could barely voice his opinion over the bickering fools. Finally, he slammed his palm on the table, silencing them all. He smiled when they looked to him.

"I'd like to hear Queen Lusca's thoughts," he winked at her.

"Oh!" She put her fork down, "Well, I think those of you who say we should initiate a single type of currency have a good point - if we are indeed all one union now then we ought to act like it - but I side with those who say we should keep things how they are. At least for now. If we introduce totally new idea so soon after we've all come together it might be a tad overwhelming for the people. I say we start one country at a time with a new currency and slowly work it in."

"And the pilot country for this new currency?" The former Prime Minister of England asked.

"America," She stated plainly, "This vast country will not comply to a change that the rest of the world starts with. However, if the USA starts the trend then they will be pleased when others follow. And, of course, we must not start the change now, perhaps in a year's time."

Loki raised a brow, impressed with the idea and how the whole room had quieted. The former president of the country in question appeared somewhat offended, but even he seemed to think it was a good idea. Perhaps his little Caribbean queen had more practice at this whole politics thing than he'd thought. Though he was loathe to even think it, she might have had more practice at it than _he_ did.

He studied her confident uplifted face and pondered. She might be worth more to him as more than just figurehead queen.

 **A/N: Hello! Long time no write! Yeah... my bad. Actually, not my bad. My computer broke. It sucked. But for the time being it's working again so I thought I'd try to update as many stories as I can find inspiration for. We'll see how long I can get away with writing before my mother yells at me for being on the computer all day and asks me to come downstairs where I will do nothing but sit on the couch and listen to my siblings argue. Don't be fooled, I love my family, they just don't love it when I write all day, which in turn makes me grumpy.**

 **That's kind of off topic. Sorry. You didn't need to hear that.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I'll get another one up before my computer decides to play dead again.**


	10. Hooky

Press conferences, public outings, several meetings with so many types of scientists that it made Lusca's head spin. The month after her arrival in New York was insanely busy and no matter how much she wanted to take a break and contact Agwe and check in on Lyron, Loki never let her rest for a moment. She was introduced to the world and everything about her and Lyron was questioned.

The general populace was shaken up over the fact that there was an island full of people who could wield magic. Others didn't worry over the magical aspect - after all, their new ruler had magic - but they were shocked that there was still a piece of the planet that had gone undiscovered. Some people were speculating that Lyron was actually Atlantis or El Dorado or some other mysterious legend. Some were worried about it, claiming Lyron had enough power to do serious harm to the rest of the world. Others were more bothersome about the discovering, wondering when Lyron would be open to visitors.

Loki didn't assist Lusca in any way when it came to her answers. She was glad of this because she didn't want him letting the inquisitive scientists and eager, wealthy tourists onto her island without her and the council's permission. However, she would have liked it if he didn't schedule her for quite so many meetings with these crazy outsiders and allow her to flounder about.

Today was a bad day in particular because she would be meeting with some elite members of the New York society. And these were the same people who had been considered hoighty toighty before the invasion. They'd remained influential in the goings on of the city and Loki had told Lusca that he wanted her to meet some of them at a garden party. He wasn't going. In fact, he never went to these socialite events that he forced his fiancee into. He claimed he was far too busy, but when Lusca returned to Stark Tower at the end of any given day he was relaxing with a book and a glass of wine. The only reason she knew this was because he tended to relax in the common area of the floor they both lived on. She always ignored him and went straight to her room, locking the door behind her.

When Lusca arrived at the garden where the party was being held she took a deep breath and prepared to exit the limo. Before she did, she felt Natasha give her a pat on the back.

"Hey, you doing okay?"

Lusca had kept her composure for the past month. No one cared about her and she didn't particularly care about any of these people. It was easy to give them her best smile and laugh politely at bad or slightly racist jokes that they told. When people asked about how savage her country was she had managed to politely explain that they were actually more advanced than America as far as technology went. She had nodded along when the big wig men rudely explained to her that since Lyron was undiscovered until this point it was impossible for them to have anything beyond caves and clothes made of skins. She'd been doing quite well at handling these people because none of them cared. But the moment her red haired bodyguard inquired after her well being she lost it.

The tears fell freely and there was little Lusca could do to stop the torrent.

"So that's a 'no'?" Natasha handed her a box of tissues.

"I'm sorry," Lusca sobbed, quickly trying to mop away the smeared mascara, "I'm sorry… I just… oh!"

"Hey, hey," Natasha patted her gently, "You're doing great. He's been asking a lot of you and you're a long way from home."

"It's, I'm," Lusca blew her nose, "I'm fine. Everything is okay."

"Obviously everything is not okay. What can I do to help?"

"I don't know. I… just don't know what to do!" Lusca felt a fresh wave coming on and she glanced out the tinted windows and saw paparazzi ready with their cameras, "I _should_ know what to do though. I'm the queen of Lyron so I should bloody well know what to do with all of these people. I feel so bad though, because, because _I don't know_."

"You don't want to go to this event, right?"

"Right."

"Then let's not. I'm sick of all of these pampered idiots too. Let's get out of here."

"I can't! They'll be so disappointed that I didn't show up, and," She gasped for breath, "And, and he'll know I didn't c-come and he'll get m-mad at me!"

"For one day let's just say 'screw you' to Loki, okay? If you keep going like this you're going to die of exhaustion and he'll be even angrier about that. Today we're playing hooky."

"I could n-never!" Lusca sobbed, grabbing a fistful of more tissues.

"Maybe you couldn't, but watch this," Natasha opened the door on her side of the limousine and was greeted by a hundred flashing cameras. The reporters asked so many questions that Lusca couldn't even make sense of them from inside the car. Natasha crossed her arms and waited for the noise to die down. When the reporters were quiet the redhead smiled at them.

"Queen Lusca just puked. She is feeling unwell and, though it greatly saddens her, she does not wish to get the rest of you ill. She says it could be an island illness that has followed her from Lyron. Something you aren't likely to survive if you aren't from the island. She wanted me to convey her most sincere apologies to all of you and said she would be happy to reschedule some other time. Good day."

There was another great wave of questions, but Natasha refused to answer them as she climbed back in the limo and tapped on the cab window. The driver took off and over the intercom he asked where they wanted to go.

"Take us to the Liberty Island ferry," Natasha requested and then looked at Lusca, "You still want to see the Statue of Liberty before they take it down?"

Still crying, but now with a smile, Lusca laughed and nodded her head. Then she blew her nose again and sat back in the leather seats with a content sigh.

"Thank you, Ms. Romanoff."

"Any time, Your Majesty."

* * *

"She didn't show?" Loki asked Lewis Layn, who was seated across from him in his office, "Where in the nine realms did she go?"

"Her bodyguard told everyone that she had thrown up and that she had some sort of island sickness," Lewis shrugged, "I'm honestly kind of glad she did. J.J.J is getting sick of stories about Lyron. The people keep eating it up, but Jameson thinks there are more important things to cover than celebrity gossip. If you didn't know me personally then he'd probably take me off of the story and have me cover the crime wave that's sweeping Jersey City right now."

"I don't care," Loki waved the young reporter's problems away, "What I need to know is where Lusca has run off to and what she's doing now. Did Romanoff say anything about where they were going?"

"No. And we never even caught a glimpse of the queen. I'm not even a hundred percent sure that she was in the limo. Maybe she's still here, chilling?"

"I assume someone would have informed me if she was ill. And she didn't look the least bit sick when I passed her in the hall this morning. She's lying and she's run off somewhere."

"Well, uh, what are you going to do?" Lewis was playing with one of the fancy pens on the desk until Loki snatched it from his hand.

"Nothing. She'll be back. She has too much to lose if she doesn't return," Loki stopped himself when he remembered that he was talking to a reporter, "I'd _greatly_ appreciate it if you didn't write a word of what I've just said."

"Yeah. Yup. Of course."

"Good. No get out. If you see Lusca do not report where she's actually been. As far as anyone knows she is sick, but will make a strong recovery soon. We need the people to love her," Loki rolled his eyes, "Because they are determined to hate me."

"Sure. Right. Anything you say."

Lewis scampered away and Loki got up and looked out his window at the city. He wasn't concerned about Lusca missing a publicity appointment. The people adored her. She'd easily bounce back from this one mishap. Of course, it irritated him that she disobeyed him, but he supposed he'd really been making her do too much in the past thirty days if she felt the need to fake a sickness.

No, he wasn't bothered over Lusca's small act of rebellion. What really frustrated him was that it seemed Agent Romanoff had gone along with this - perhaps even instigated it. He supposed that even under the influence of the scepter her personality might still allow her to help the queen take a break, but he suspected it was more than that. He had a sneaking feeling that Natasha Romanoff had somehow shaken off the control of the scepter and was plotting something.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it was so short. Feel free to favorite/follow/review. :)**


	11. Loyalty

Lusca leaned over the rail of the ferry and grinned at the giant greenish-blue woman guarding her island and welcoming foreigners like herself. The young queen gave a very unqueenly hoot of delight as the salty air blew her curly hair out of it's tight bun and all around her face. One of her earbuds fell out of her ear, but she quickly popped it back in more securely.

"What are you listening to?" Romanoff was sitting on a bench and smirking quietly at her charge.

"Come on Eileen!" Lusca sang, "Oh I swear, at this moment, you mean everything!"

"Ah, and what do you think of Lady Liberty?"

"She's gorgeous! Much taller in person!"

"True," Romanoff glanced up as a government helicopter flew over their heads, "Hey, I hate to cut this short, but I think if we stay out much longer we'll both be branded as traitors."

Lusca stopped smiling, rolled her eyes and pulled out her earbuds, wrapping the cord around her iPod. She sat down next to Romanoff.

"Very well, I suppose all good things must come to an end," She turned to the redhead, "Thank you for rescuing me. It was a lovely day."

"You're welcome," Romanoff nodded, "But, for my sake, can we downplay just how much I encouraged you to leave the party?"

"Of course. It was my idea entirely, I think you'll recall. I shall take the blame."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the fresh air and the breeze. Finally Lusca turned to Romanoff.

"You aren't under his control anymore, are you?"

"I would prefer to neither confirm or deny that."

"How'd you do it?"

"If you ever happen to find yourself under the control of His Majesty's mind control then I would suggest you give yourself a concussion."

* * *

Loki watched the two women strut confidently into his office, arms crossed, chins lifted, seemingly daring him to tell them that they'd done something wrong. This was not good. Self assured people could not be controlled. If you wanted people to do what you wanted them to they either had to be afraid of you or they had to respect you.

"Lewis informs me that you did not show up to your scheduled event."

"I was hit with a sudden bout of sickness. I feel much better now, perhaps it was a type of stage fright," Lusca raised a brow. Definitely challenging him.

"It would seem that you are exhausted - if those bags under your eyes are any indication. You'll have a week of rest," He said, "I suggest you get started now."

"Is this a dismissal?" She asked, evidently surprised that she was being kicked out without a fight. Loki had no quarrel with her missing a single event. She was very obviously drained and needed a break. Besides, dismissing her now would leave Romanoff without anyone to defend her actions. He suspected that Lusca had planned to take the blame for everything, but if she wasn't there he forced Romanoff to come up with a new strategy.

"Yes."

Lusca jumped when a guard put a hand on her shoulder and escorted her out of the room, but she didn't make any objections.

"Now Romanoff, I hope you realize that this means you are being reassigned," He said, but there was no reaction, "I think, since you seem to speak Russian so well that you will go with my ambassador to Moscow. Far away from any important happenings around here."

"Very well, sir."

"And if you attempt to coerce Lusca into neglecting her duties again before you leave I hope you know that Barton will suffer for it."

"Coerce?" She asked, "I wouldn't dare, sir."

"I'm not so sure of that," He drummed his fingers on the desk, "I think that, before I let you go too far from my sight you'd better prove your loyalty."

Her eyes didn't betray any worry over this.

"You, Barton, and the other ex agents have already been so helpful in telling me where the SHIELD bases are, but the Helicarrier and Nick Fury still elude me. Find it. Bring it down. Then you can be off to Russia."

"It won't be easy. Fury knows me. He knows my tricks. It might take weeks."

"Lusca gets a week of rest, you have a week of work to find it. If you fail then I'll know your loyalty lies elsewhere," He made the scepter appear and lifted her chin with the point, "And that you need a refresher."

"If you are unsure of my loyalties, sir, then why not use the scepter on me again?"

"Because using it once on a person captures their mind, but using it again sets it free to its old destructive nature. Rather like a light switch."

She quirked a brow at this, no doubt tucking away that information. Good. Now he knew to kill her if she ever touched the scepter. He didn't know why he didn't kill her already. Maybe because she was one of the most dangerous women on this planet and her skills would be extremely useful if he could only get her to work for him.

"You are dismissed to begin your search."

He waved her away and she left without another glance at him.

Sighing, he checked the security feed on his computer and watched the assassin walk down the hall to the elevator. Once inside, she did nothing suspicious. No warning phone calls to Fury or anything. He tracked her progress through the building until she was in Stark's lab. She opened up one of the holographic screens and appeared to get to work. Loki wasn't sure what she was doing exactly, but it looked like she was trying to find the Helicarrier. He made a note to send one of his computer lackies down to check on her progress later to make sure she was actually doing something.

He switched to the feed of Lusca's living room and saw her opening the small refrigerator and pulling out a sandwich. She did nothing but munch the sandwich for a while and then go lay down on the couch and fall asleep.

* * *

Deep in the Wakandan jungle, the Helicarrier was full of the few remaining uncompromised SHIELD agents buzzing around trying to recruit any superhumans that they knew of to come to their aid. It was a slow process.

The agents, after it was clear they weren't winning any battles against the Chitauri, turned their ship to stealth mode and disappeared. When they received a transmission from the king of Wakanda, T'Chaka, inviting them to hide in the jungle, Fury had readily accepted the offer and flown there with as much haste as a gigantic flying aircraft carrier that was trying not to set off any alarms could fly.

T'Chaka and his son, T'Challa, had been most welcoming and had aided what was left of SHIELD in coming up with a plan of attack against the earth's new "king". Wakanda was one of the places on Earth that was yet uninvaded, though no one was sure if that was because Loki was unaware of their presence or if it was because he was aware but didn't want to pick a fight with the mighty and hugely advanced nation.

So the Helicarrier was safe for the time being and the agents were getting a tad stir crazy and by golly if they had to listen to Fury ask them what the location of the Fantastic Four was one more time they might just scream. The director had been reminded numerous times that the super powered team was in space. Exploring stuff. Nobody knew what they were doing really, but nobody had the time to try and get a message to them wherever they were in the galaxy.

It seemed the X-Men were unresponsive and likely hiding themselves in Xavier's school. No one apart from Fury had known the school was anything but a normal boarding school anyway so they were probably fine. And it wasn't like Loki was doing anything to mutants in particular, so that group of heroes was likely to stay out of matters until the dust settled.

The lack of progress in recruiting seemed to be making Nick Fury go crazy because he burst into the control room with a dangerous grin and all of the agents knew to avoid eye contact and focus on their respective tasks until the crazed leer disappeared from the director's face. The only one brave enough to talk to Fury when he got like this was Coulson. And Coulson was supposed to be dead (not that anyone believed for a second that Fury let his right hand man die). In the place of Coulson, Maria Hill stepped up to try and get their boss back into a logical mind.

"I've got it!" Fury declared, "Who says that we need good or even neutral party enhanced players in this game? The bad guys care about the fate of the world too!"

"Oh no," Penny the security specialist whispered to Jack the weapons manager, "Is he suggesting what I think he's suggesting?"

"That we create an elite team of criminals to save the world? Yeah, that's what it sounds like. We're doomed if Hill can't talk him down," Jack groaned, cleaning his pistol for the tenth time that day.

"Nick, Nick!" Hill was dashing around, trying to keep her boss from doing stupid things, "We can't release criminals - especially not enhanced criminals! You really think guys like Abomination and Sandman are going to help?"

"No, but what about Taskmaster? Or Juggernaut?! Ha! I'd like to see Loki go up against the Juggernaut!"

Penny rolled her eyes as Maria Hill desperately tried to keep Fury from remember that he could remotely release of the the prisoners SHIELD had across the globe from the Helicarrier. The brief entertainment was interrupted when Penny's phone beeped. She checked it.

"Crap."

"What is it?" Jack asked, putting his piece back together.

"Message from Agent Romanoff!" Penny shouted over the chattering in the room, "Putting it up on the big screen!"

The room fell silent and Natasha Romanoff popped up on the big screen, looking as if she was immensely bored.

"Prove my loyalty! Ha!" The compromised agent scoffed, "I am the _most_ loyal agent he has. Oh well, at least _this won't take very long_."

The message ended and went black.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Fury shouted at the agents, "Is she using a code that any of you know? What's she trying to say?"

"Sir," Hill said, "I don't think it's in code. She's just warning us."

"How is that a warning?"

"She said that she's being asked to prove her loyalty. What if that means Loki is having her look for us? She didn't have to say she was the most loyal. She's letting us know that she is no longer compromised. And she told us that it won't take very long. She's going to find us and she's going to report us to him and she wants us to get out of here. She is probably being watched and covertly sent the message. Agent Pent, how did she send this?"

"She sent it to me on Snapchat."

"What the heck is a Snapchat?!" Fury demanded.

"It's an app, sir," Penny answered, "You can send pictures or messages to your friends and then they disappear after you open them so no one can look at them again."

"Clever. Is there anyway that someone could retrieve this message?"

"I doubt anyone would think of doing so, sir, but I'll get ahold of the creators of the app and make sure no one can see anything Romanoff has sent if it's even possible to do so."

"So are we going to get out of here?" Hill asked, "Thank the Wakandans and go stealth mode in the sky again?"

"No."

"No?"

"It could be a trap. They might not be able to find us right now, but they might be able to if we take off."

"So we're just going to sit here and let them find us?"

"I didn't say that."

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! :)**


	12. Protecting Our Young

The week flew by far too fast. Lusca supposed that might have been because she spent much of it napping. She was disappointed to find that the SHIELD Helicarrier had been located in Wakanda. However, she was more disappointed to learn that the Wakandan king had been imprisoned in New York as punishment for hiding the agents. His son, T'Challa, was now in charge of Wakanda's affairs.

On the bright side, none of the agents had been found in the Helicarrier. It seemed they had cleared out any vital information and run off. King T'Chaka had claimed that they'd left a month previous, but Lusca couldn't help but wonder if Natasha had sent them some warning.

Loki certainly seemed to think so, but he had no proof and he didn't seem to be overly worried that the assassin would try anything else. After all, it was very hard to meddle in the king's affairs all the way from Moscow.

Lusca was not even given a chance to say her farewells to the agent who had been so helpful to her. She was now friendless and helpless in the strange city and her week of relaxation was over.

On the first morning after her break she dressed as professionally as she was able and left her suite before she could be summoned out of them. Then, she went to Loki's office and knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence before he called for her to enter. Lusca assumed he was checking the security feed to see who dared disturb him.

"Good morning," She smiled cheerfully, unwilling to let him see her misery.

"Lusca," He nodded, reading over a paper and then tossing it over his shoulder carelessly, "What brings you here?"

"The week is up, I'm ready to get back to 'work'. What would you have me do?"

"You and I are going to the grand reopening of a school that was destroyed in the battle," He smirked, "It is time for the public to start seeing us together."

Lusca could have groaned at that, but she merely smiled.

"I love children. It should be a fun event!"

"You love children? Well, that is good to hear," He laughed, "Seeing as we'll have to have one of our own eventually."

And just like that her smiley demeanor broke and she was gaping at him angrily.

"Excuse me?!"

"I thought that would get you back to your usual miserable self!" He stood up and approached her, "Nothing to worry about right now. I was just sick of seeing that too perfect smile."

"You want a _child?_ With _me?_ "

"Not particularly, but I'll need one at some point. Why else do you think I wanted to marry a foolish Midgardian such as yourself?"

Lusca snapped her mouth closed and glared at him. She supposed she should have seen it coming. And as he said, there was no need to dwell on it now. Besides, perhaps SHIELD and the Avengers would be able to reclaim the planet before there came a time to discuss such a thing.

"At what time are we going to the school?" She asked stiffly.

"Now!" He grabbed her arm and led her out of the office, "School starts early!"

* * *

He could hear the reporters muttering amongst themselves. They wanted to know why he'd brought Lusca with him, which is exactly the question he wanted them to ponder. Rumors quickly became gossip, gossip spread to well known fact, and then, after people had made up their minds on the matter, they finally asked about it. However, before anyone could ask Loki would make it very clear just how "in love" he and Lusca were. She'd hate him for it.

Of course, today was just to get the idea into people's minds. Seeing them together would cause a buzz and once these love addicted Americans latched onto the thought of romance, well then they'd be much more eager to accept it when it became official.

As pictures were snapped, Loki made sure to shake the hand of every teacher who would be serving the school. He took a moment to thank them for what they were boldly agreeing to do before passing them onto Lusca for her to talk with.

This was actually the most fun he'd had in his kingship since he'd invaded Lyron. Teachers were truly people to be admired and he wanted them to know that. When he'd found out how little the educators of the United States were paid he'd spent an hour on the phone with the former president berating him over the matter.

The teachers seemed glad to be thanked, but rather leery of the person expressing gratitude. Loki didn't blame them. They were to be the pioneers of a new school system and it was nothing like they'd ever seen before. He didn't blame them for being suspicious.

"Sir," A middle aged teacher addressed him, her eyes wide, "Thank you for coming to this reopening!"

"Of course!" He smiled earnestly, "Am I right in assuming you are Principal Ermine?"

"Yes sir," The woman beamed.

"I want to thank you for allowing your school to be the first in our new program. It is a brave thing to do and many people will oppose and even hate you for it."

"I am aware of that."

"May I ask why you agreed to it?"

"Sir, some of us having been trying to change our broken school system for years. Regardless of how I feel about you or what you've done in this world, I will forever be grateful to you for attempting something new with our schools."

Loki was genuinely touched. He could tell that the woman was not a fan of him. She'd probably never forgive him since her school had been devastated in the battle. Everyone had hated him when they'd found out how many children and teachers had been killed and wounded in the battle. So he'd done his best to make up for it by completely funding this school's repair and this woman seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"May I ask where exactly you found the base for this new system? The new curriculum and all?"

"It is a combination of the programs of the most successful schools in your world, combined with the most successful curriculums and ideas of the Asgardian schools," Loki replied and he caught Lusca looking at him curiously, "Once we try it on a few pilot schools to see how well it works, we will be implementing it globally."

"And how long will the test period be?"

"Two years. That ought to give the teachers enough time to grow accustomed to it and report what works and what doesn't, don't you think?"

"Actually, sir," the principal said sheepishly, "If there are any high schools in the pilot schools you might want to extend the test period to four years to allow everyone to graduate through the same program."

"An interesting idea. I will take it up with the council of educators," He nodded, "It has been a pleasure meeting you and," He gave her a note card with information on it, "Should you think of anything off of the top of your head that might need reconsideration, this is the number of the head of the Education Council. She will be more than happy to discuss things with you."

"Thank you, sir." The woman half bowed, half nodded politely and moved onto Lusca.

With all of the teachers spoken to the next step was one he wasn't so fond of. Talking to the children. The elementary school kids were watching him with eager and curious eyes and he supposed that was to be expected. Even if he was dressed in a Midgardian suit children always took notice of someone different and new.

Once Lusca had finished talking with the principal, Loki smiled at the kids and then at the cameras. Time to put on a show.

"We are here for a new beginning, are we not?" He asked the crowd, "The restart of a grand school, the first day of a new school curriculum, and one step toward retaining the peace I have brought to your world."

A few people cheered at that and a few booed, claiming it was not peace.

"And, as the young are the bright light of the future," He gestured to the kids and one little boy waved shyly, "I will personally ensure that our new system of education never decays as the old one has. I will personally fight to keep these young people learning at their own pace, learning what they need to learn to help themselves, and to keep them well equipped to find their place in the world and _better_ it."

A loud cheer went up this time. Who could boo against helping children? No one in their right mind. Even Lusca was applauding his speech and looking impressed. He realized he'd been watching for her approval and quickly looked to the children instead.

"Welcome to the first day of your new school!"

The kids were released by their parents with wild whoops and while some went straight for the front doors of the school, others lingered and approached Loki with shy smiles and tiny handshakes. Loki treated them all with the same respect he would treat and adult, but he couldn't say the same of the smaller children in the way they treated him. One kindergartener kicked him and was quickly scooped up and rushed away by her mother.

As he was crouched low, surrounded by grinning and laughing kids, it took him longer than he would have liked to notice a glint on a rooftop across the blocked off street. He looked down at his chest and found a red dot dancing there. That didn't bother him so much, since he knew it would merely bruise him, but when he saw the red dot flick from his chest to Lusca's he jumped to his feet, causing several kids to groan in disappointment. Lusca was holding a five year old boy in her arms and listening to him tell her about how excited he was to start school.

Right as he heard the snap of the gun Loki lept and wrapped his arms around Lusca and the little boy, with his back to the sniper. He felt the bullet's sting in his lower back and hissed in pain. When the shot rang out he immediately tapped his earpiece and ordered Barton to find the sniper and put him down. He also sent out a message to any of the other guards he had in the area to get the children and civilians into the school and out of the way in case there were more shots.

"By the volcano!" Lusca whispered, still being held by him.

"You need to get inside," he told her over the crying of the child in her arms, "Take this boy to safety, Lusca."

"Y-yes, of course," she started to turn and make for the school, but another shot rang out and hit a few inches away from her. Loki wrapped himself around her again and pushed her toward the door while shielding her.

"They're after you," he muttered darkly, "I don't know why, but they are after you."

"Oh." She seemed to be too shocked to say anything else, so Loki quickly got her into the school, told her to stay away from windows, and then strode away from the school and toward the sniper.

There was a long pause where he thought Barton might have apprehended the shooter, but then bullets began to fire rapidly at him from a machine gun. Evidently the menace was still out there. Loki quickly took cover behind a news van, knowing he wouldn't be able to walk through a downpour of bullets without sustaining some damage.

"Barton," he snapped, "Progress report?"

"Working on it, sir," Barton grunted. There was the sound of a fist colliding with something and then the bullets stopped. Loki took the opportunity to rush to the building of the sniper's hideout and do his utmost to jump from window ledge to window ledge until he was on the roof. Barton and another man were engaged in hand to hand combat when he arrived.

The other man had long brown hair and a black face mask that obscured any identifying details. Of course, it would have been fairly easy to pick this particular man out of a line up because he happened to boast a shining metal arm that bore a red star on the shoulder.

The metal armed man spotted Loki, grabbed Barton by the throat, tossed him toward the edge of the building and then ran and jumped for the next roof. Barton grabbed the ledge before he rolled off and Loki sprinted after the other man. He hadn't done this kind of thing since the battle. He was a tad out of shape, but he was still much faster and stronger than the metal armed man and he quickly caught up, throwing a spell that knocked the other man over onto the concrete of the roof.

"You _are_ an agile one, aren't you?" Loki panted, "Why were you shooting at Queen Lusca?"

The man made no reply. He pushed himself back to his feet and pointed a handgun at Loki's face.

"We both know that won't do you any good so put it away before you hurt yourself."

The man still didn't respond and he did not put his weapon away.

"You're working for someone," Loki took a step closer, "You're some sort of mercenary."

Nothing.

"You probably do not even know the reason you were supposed to kill her. She's just another target to you," Loki sighed and took another step, the man tensed.

"Stay back."

"Oh! So you do have vocal cords! How nice. Who do you work for?"

There was a long silence.

"Back at the quiet game? Very well, we'll see how long you can stay silent when I control your mind," Loki conjured his scepter and jabbed it forward. The metal arm intercepted with impossible strength and tossed Loki backward. That served to make the Asgardian twice as irritated and then the fight really began. Fists, metal arms, bullets, scepters, and knives flew with such speed that neither man could take even a second to refocus.

Then, Loki dared to blink and the man was running and jumping off the roof. Loki quickly pursued, but when he looked over the edge the man had vanished

"Barton!" Loki barked into his communicator. He gave his location and instructed every available soldier, policeman, or guard to search the area for the metal armed man. Then, he made his way back to the school.

When he arrived he went in and entered the gymnasium where everyone was crowded. They all turned to him when he entered and reporters began firing off questions as quickly as the bullets had been fired earlier.

"Silence!" he roared and when they complied he put on his best furious expression, "The sniper has been stopped. I have garnered the information that he was sent by SHIELD to assassinate Queen Lusca - simply because she has allied herself with me for the good of her people. SHIELD did not care that the Queen held a young, innocent boy in her hands, who could have been killed as well. SHIELD did not care to wait until she was away from children to attempt this. SHIELD does not care for the young of this world, they care only for putting things back to the way they used to be."

If he did not know what enemy to blame for the attack he would pin it on another one of his problems. People had strong reactions when their children were at stake. If he played this right then he'd have the people of the world rooting out the agents for him. Nick Fury might be brought to him in the hold of angry mothers.

"I will not stand for this!" He seethed, "I will not let the innocent of my kingdom suffer at the hands of these insurgents! You have my word that every last operative of SHIELD will be captured and punished for their actions."

"Calm down," An older reporter laughed, "It's not like anyone was even hurt! It isn't a big-"

Loki rolled his eyes and tossed a quick, small dagger into the man's throat. When the action was met with gasps and horrified whispers he lengthened the scepter and hit the butt of it on the ground.

"Is there anyone else who cares to laugh at the safety of our children? Even attempts must be treated as a full on attack or we will never muster the courage to stop these fiends."

The parents and teachers all cheered and the reporters recorded it all. Loki kept his expression fierce, made a few more promises to destroy SHIELD and then calmed things down a bit.

"Now, I completely understand if the parents and teachers gathered here would like to postpone the first day of school," Loki said, "But I, for one, think it would show our enemies just how strong we are if we persist."

The suggestion was met with another cheer and the school day kicked off. Loki shook a few more hands, made a few more threats, and then told Principal Ermine that he'd be posting his personal guards outside the school to ensure safety, though he assured her the target was not the school, but Lusca. He wished her well and then he and Lusca left.

The car ride back was quiet and Lusca seemed to be thinking about something. Loki didn't particularly care what so he didn't ask. But she did and he was not prepared for the question.

"How much of it was a lie?"

"Excuse me?" He blinked.

"Just the part about SHIELD or the whole attack?" She turned in her seat to look at him and he tried to keep his face emotionless.

"You think it was staged?"

"I think you are the type to risk the lives of children just to make yourself look better," she crossed her arms and looked down her nose at him, "And I'm wondering if that is what just happened."

"I would never put a whole school's worth of young ones in harm's way just for good press," he snapped, offended at the idea. Although, he supposed from someone who'd only seen the bad side of him he shouldn't have been surprised at this assumption.

"No? Then why would you jump so valiantly in front of me? You and I do not like each other. If I was dead it would leave Lyron up for grabs. You gained nothing but good rep from saving me."

He raised his hand as if to slap her, but when she didn't even flinch he lowered it.

"You forget, Your Majesty, that you were holding a small boy," Loki sneered, "And apart from saving his life, I do not wish to go through the hassle of finding another fiancee who is of political value."

He was furious that she'd suggest that he would hire a sniper - to fire on a _school_ \- just to make himself look good. Obviously Lusca could not find it in her to see past the monster he'd been when he'd invaded. She couldn't look past the way he'd acted in battle to see the good he was bringing to her planet.

"If you say so," she sniffed haughtily.

"I do. But you are correct in saying that it was not SHIELD who ordered the attack. At least, to my knowledge," Loki allowed, "The sniper got away before I could find out who he worked for and why that party wants you dead."

"He escaped?"

"Yes."

"Well that's lovely, isn't it?" Lusca sighed and rubbed her eyes, "An assassin who wants to kill me is on the loose and I am to be forced to go to a million high profile events!"

"Do not fret over it," Loki waved the idea away, "I shall be by your side at these events in the coming months."

"And do you plan to take a bullet for me every time we go outside?"

"If I must."

"I- uh, well," she blushed, "Thank you. And if it wasn't staged, thank you for saving me today as well."

"You are welcome," he nodded with a grin.

"But next time," she cleared her throat, "Do not feel the need to get _quite_ so close."

"Why? Did it make you uncomfortable?" He snickered.

"Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be asking you to avoid doing it," she glanced at his sly grin and raised eyebrow and her blush deepened, "Oh I see. You were being flirtatious."

"Norns!" he laughed loudly, "Yes. Though if you have to point it out it isn't nearly as fun."

"Sorry?"

"I suppose we'll have to work on acting like a couple more," he ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, "Perhaps I will take some time tomorrow to teach you how to properly respond to a man wooing you."

"Oh please," She rolled her eyes, "I do not need to be instructed on how to be flirted with! I have had a boyfriend before, you know."

"Hmm, yes, the ever charming Councilman Azacca. When you were teenagers."

"Yes, so?"

In a flash, he was unbuckled and so close that he could make out tiny flecks of cobalt in her brown eyes. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She stuttered out an objection, but fell quiet when his lips brushed her ear.

"Any teenager can flirt, my dear queen," he chuckled, "I _seduce_."

They were quiet for a moment before pulling into the underground parking of the former Stark Tower. Lusca swallowed nervously and then tried a polite smile, her weapon of choice for dealing with discomfort.

"Oh look! We're back!" And when they pulled into the parking space she was quick to open her door and unfasten her seatbelt. Too quick, for she fell out onto the cement floor, "Ow!"

Barton rushed over from the driver's seat and helped her up and Loki laughed.

"Clearly, you know _exactly_ how to respond to insinuated romance, Lusca," He stepped past her, "Tomorrow we are going to the rescheduled garden party you missed. We'll practice there."

When the young queen thought he was out of earshot he heard her say a word he would have never expected to come from her mouth and he laughed. Then he left her to her own devices and went to see what he could dig up about the man with the metal arm.


End file.
